With iOS 26, Apple has made a key strategy change: it does not pre-announce new major major features that will not be available for the coming months.
Here’s why I think it’s an excellent Apple decision, and why it could make 12 exciting months.
IOS 26 strategy change
Apple’s change of strategy was clearly motivated by what happened at WWDC 2024 and during the next iOS 18 cycle. The company has pre-announcing new important features for Siri, but has failed to provide these features.
But iOS 18 was not the first time that has been pre-announcing the new WWDC features which were not shipped before the following software updates during the following 12 months. It is a strategy used by Apple for several years, covering new major features such as Universal Control, Live Activities, Shareplay, etc.
Thus, although Apple’s decision not to an name for future iOS 26 features to WWDC was invited to the IOS 18 debacle, it is a reversal of a strategy that has been in place for years.
What does this mean for new features of the iPhone?
I do not think that means that Apple will not publish any new feature for iOS 26 in the next year. What this means is that the new features published in iOS 26.1, iOS 26.2, and beyond will remain secret until
I imagine a world where Apple publishes a press release or a short video boosting new features, almost at the same time as the first beta of future iOS 26 updates are published. For example, iOS 26.1 Beta 1 will probably be published in September. At the same time, Apple can make a marketing blitz to promote these new features.
This also gives Apple an opportunity to dominate the news cycle more regularly. Instead of emptying everything during a two -hour speech in June, it can carefully deploy the features throughout the iOS 26 cycle of 12 months.
Certain features planned for future iOS 26 versions have already fled, such as live translation for Airpod and improvements to connection to public Wi-Fi networks. Apple also works on at least one new feature for Apple Maps which is apparently intended for the iOS 26 cycle.
9TO5MAC Can also be independently confirmed that several new unexpected features referenced in the IOS 26 code with launch dates targeting next year.
And of course, we are still waiting for the previously announced features of Siri and Apple Intelligence to be shipped in next year.
Perhaps everything is a pile wish, and the features that Apple has already announced for iOS 26 are the only features that we will see until iOS 27 is announced at WWDC 2026. I hope this is not the case.
I think that having a well -designed deployment of new features for iOS 26 will be very exciting. Much more exciting than waiting for Apple to sporadically publish new features that have been announced for months before.
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