The launch and improvement of Apple Intelligence and different iOS 18 options might impression iOS 19, on account of engineers engaged on the AI push.
Apple’s improvement of options for working methods normally reaches a crescendo with their introduction in a significant fall launch. Nevertheless, the quantity of labor nonetheless being carried out in iOS 18 might trigger issues for iOS 19.
In a publish to X, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims he continues to “hear that the gradual rollout of features across iOS 18 to iOS 18.4 is leading to delays of some features scheduled for iOS 19.”
With engineers tied up on iOS 18 tasks, together with the intensive work on Apple Intelligence, this implies they don’t seem to be engaged on tasks for the iOS 19 launch, Gurman provides.
In flip, the lengthy iOS 18 engineering slog may also result in “a long term rollout of features next cycle as well,” with Apple’s groups combating to catch up. To customers, this might translate into extra options being introduced for iOS 19, however an extended wait earlier than they really get applied within the working system.
Gurman does not straight point out Apple Intelligence, however provided that the majority of the brand new options in iOS 18 are related to it and its prolonged rollout interval, there’s little else the continued work might discuss with.
Whereas it is a rumor based mostly on one supply, it’s one thing that’s totally plausible. Slips in improvement are extraordinarily frequent thought the software program trade, each for single-run software program launches and extra common updates like working methods.
Greater slips even have the potential for options to overlook an meant launch date, and even a whole model. Slips are virtually a truth of life for builders, and one thing that’s consistently battled.
For Apple, the danger is in lacking out on including sufficient new options or different enhancements to iOS 19 that it turns into a lackluster replace to customers. Nevertheless, with customers pretty used to the concept of options arriving months after launch, this should not be an enormous drawback for Apple to take care of.
Even with this threat, Apple does have a well-established improvement course of and cycle, which it has beforehand demonstrated it will probably adapt to fulfill its wants.
In late October 2023, Apple stalled improvement of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and its different main 2024 updates for every week. It was later defined that it was every week of debugging, in a bid to make the releases as bug-free as doable.
In 2019, after observing software program glitches after an iPhone launch, Apple made a collection of improvement process modifications. This additionally occurred after Apple needed to postpone a number of options destined for iOS 12 to reach in iOS 13 as an alternative.