Apple’s system of annual releases leaves it with the worst of both worlds: siloed updates that come too infrequently for minor features while still not having enough major features to be worth the hype. If Apple can’t make macOS and iOS updates more substantial, it might be time to leave the annual release cycle behind.

I would go even further. Annual releases are just not what they once were. We used to pay $129 for the newest OS to run with 100’s of new features. 10.4 “Tiger” was out up to 10.4.11, almost 3 full years, and was the OS version in the PowerPC to Intel transition. These OS’s made a lot of progress over the years, including drastic changes, and sweeping update.

But no more. I propose MacOS and iOS go to rolling releases. What’s that? Do you know what version of Chrome you’re on? Do you know the most recent version? I doubt you even care. Chrome, Firefox, and a lot of other software do small constant releases. That is was Apple should transition to. They straddle that line now. Lots of the new iOS “features” are released in a point update rather than first x.0.

On top of that untether the default apps from the OS. There is no reason why Safari, Mail, and others have to wait around for a full OS release to be updated. It makes absolutely zero sense today.