iOS 18 has brought a uniquely staggered rollout of new features, with packed 18.1 and 18.2 releases so far. According to Mark Gurman, that has created some unexpected delays to iOS 19’s development.
iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence have tied up resources
I continue 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. That will lead to a long term rollout of features next cycle as well. Engineers are stuck working on iOS 18 projects when they’d usually already be on to the following OS.
iOS 18 has been an especially big undertaking for Apple, with major updates in the initial September release then some unusually feature-rich 18.1 and 18.2 releases.
Apple Intelligence has been a big part of the story, with the initial wave of AI features coming in 18.1 and some of the even more compelling additions in yesterday’s 18.2 release.
But Apple still has iOS 18.3 on the horizon, and reportedly a big launch coming with 18.4 in April.
It’s understandable that all of this may lead to a more gradual iOS 19 rollout than Apple had originally hoped—and maybe even a smaller release altogether.
9to5Mac’s Take
Personally, I’ve found Apple’s iOS 18 rollout pretty exciting. The company had a still-substantial initial release with 18.0, and ever since then we’ve gotten big new feature drops every month or two.
In some previous years, there’s almost been too much added in the big fall iOS release that I miss out on some of the smaller changes and updates. The staggered rollout provides more space for each new feature to shine, and it feels like the iPhone’s always getting exciting additions. Count me in for a similar iOS 19 rollout.
Are you concerned at all about these reported iOS 19 delays? Or do you prefer the slower rollout? Let us know in the comments.
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