Fatbobman’s Swift Weekly #053 | Breaking the Annual Release Cycle: A New Dawn for Tech Innovation?

fatbobman ( 东坡肘子)
5 min readOct 14, 2024

Weekly Comment

Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

Breaking the Annual Release Cycle: A New Dawn for Tech Innovation?

Remember when smart devices were durable goods and luxury items? Today, they’ve quietly taken on more characteristics of fast-moving consumer goods and decorative items. Somewhere along the line, annual updates and constant innovation became the norm for tech products. Big companies’ annual release events have essentially become the tech world’s fashion shows, captivating audiences worldwide.

This rhythm was initially led by industry giants, but as markets expanded and competition intensified, they found themselves trapped by this relentless cycle: knowing it’s unsustainable, yet unable to stop.

Recently, Bloomberg reported that Apple might abandon its annual release strategy. If true, I believe this is a positive development. This step could alleviate many issues caused by years of rushed production and change for the sake of change, potentially bringing unexpected positive outcomes.

I’m well aware of the challenges this transition poses: Will consumers approve? Can shareholders accept it? Can management withstand the pressure? After all, in this era of self-media, release events are…

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