Apple recently released its new iOS 18.2 update to the public for all compatible iPhone models and the update is pretty significant considering the features it brings to the platform. Apple engineers are reportedly stuck working on iOS 18 projects, which will have an impact on iOS 19 development.
iOS 19 development delayed due to slow rollout of iOS 18 features
iOS 18.2 is worth the upgrade as it brings ChatGPT support to the iPhone along with the company’s new Image Playground app support for Genmoji across the operating system. It is now being reported that Apple engineers are having a hard time developing iOS 19 for next year as the gradual rollout of iOS 18 features has rendered engineers stuck on some projects.
While Apple is late to the AI side of things in the industry compared to the competition, it is gradually rolling out Apple Intelligence features. The company is expected to announce major AI upgrades next year with the release of iOS 19, but based on the latest trends, it appears that developers are finding it hard to work on the development of the operating system.
Mark Gurman claims in his latest post on X that “the gradual rollout of features across iOS 18 to iOS 18.4 is leading to delays of some features scheduled for iOS 19.” The analyst further claims that this will lead to a long-term rollout of features next year as well. He coins that Apple engineers are stuck working on projects related to iOS 18, while they should be working on iOS 19 at this point.
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…
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) December 12, 2024
Apple usually starts working on the new version of iOS soon after the previous version is released to the public. This year, the company introduced its new Apple Intelligence features, which could be requiring more time and attention from developers. Apple announced iOS 18 at its WWDC event in June and while the company announced all the major features, some of the major features will not be available until next year, possibly with the released of iOS 18.4 or so.
Apple is expected to released iOS 18.4 next year in the Spring, potentially alongside the release of the new M4 MacBook Air and the M3 iPad Air. If developers continue to work on features oriented towards iOS 18, Apple would have to delay some of the features for iOS 19. What this means is that the company would follow the same trend of software update releases next year with some features released early and the rest of them in 2026.
Apple would have to ramp up the development of Apple Intelligence and other features for iOS 18, which would allow it to resume its efforts for iOS 19 for a seamless rollout. We will update you as soon as the company shifts its focus from iOS 18 to next year’s release.
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