Now everyone is waiting for the new line of M4 Apple computers. New MacBooks, Mac Minis, and more are all expected based on Apple’s previous annual launch schedule.
Apple is pretty predictable when it comes to releasing new products. Software announcements will be made at WWDC in June, followed by new hardware announcements. For example, the new iPhone announcement has long been scheduled for Apple’s September event, followed by the new MacBook announcement later in the fall.
But Apple’s reliable annual release schedule appears to be coming to an end. According to bloombergAccording to Apple insider Mark Gurman, Apple is “gradually” moving away from this annual release strategy.
Apple’s new M4 MacBook Pro is coming soon, but it may have already leaked
Apple changes annual product release cycle
Over the years, Apple users have come to expect new Apple hardware releases to be released on a fairly consistent schedule.
According to Garman, there were several reasons for this. This gave employees a deadline to work towards. It helped investors know what to expect. And this gives Apple’s marketing team a deadline to focus on press and marketing efforts beyond the summer.
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But as Garman explains, this is becoming more difficult as Apple expands beyond just smartphones and computers. Some products, such as certain AirPods and Apple Watch models, don’t require annual hardware updates.
Additionally, certain Apple teams are distributed to work within these scheduled launch dates. Garman shares that Apple’s audio team has to work on every device, from Macs and iPhones to Apple Watches and AirPods.
Software updates also make things even more difficult, as Apple currently works with a variety of operating systems, from iOS to visionOS in the Apple Vision Pro. Whenever new hardware is announced, work must be done to ensure that everything is compatible with the software.
Unfortunately, the time it takes to bring both hardware and software to market is not always the same. For example, Apple is touting the new iPhone 16 as being built specifically for Apple’s AI, Apple Intelligence. However, even though the iPhone 16 was launched last month and has been in customers’ hands for several weeks, Apple Intelligence is still not available.
Garman expects annual iPhone updates and September launch events to continue. But Apple’s experiment with skipping annual announcements for certain products is already starting to unfold. In recent years, Apple has increasingly released new Macs randomly in January and June. Apple launched the new iPad in May, which is not Apple’s regularly scheduled launch time.
But don’t worry, Apple fans. Garman said Apple’s decision to change strategy will likely result in “more frequent releases and fewer unpleasant delays.” When a product is ready to launch, Apple plans its rollout accordingly, rather than trying to work within a predetermined schedule of Apple events.
