Apple needs another Snow Leopard to fix its software

The last few days have been very busy when it comes to Apple news. That’s because the company has confirmed that the new Siri experience has been delayed while sources suggest that the new features promised at last year’s WWDC won’t be ready any time soon. Given everything that’s going on at Apple recently, there’s one thing that could really help: another Snow Leopard.

If you’ve been a Mac user for at least 16 years, you probably remember how important Mac OS X Snow Leopard was. At the time, Apple didn’t usually release a new version of Mac OS X every year. And when Snow Leopard came out, Apple wasn’t focused on introducing new features or design changes. Instead, the company put its efforts into improving the stability of the software.

Why am I writing this now? Because I saw someone share a clip from WWDC 2009 when Mac OS X Snow Leopard was announced, and Bertrand Serlet (Apple’s former vice president of software engineering) made it clear on stage that the update had “zero new features.” It made me think about how Apple has changed a lot, and how the company could learn from its past.

Apple has never liked to admit it’s wrong, but the company has done so when it had to. I once wrote about this here in the midst of the FineWoven accessories situation. Remember when Steve Jobs invited the press to a keynote just to discuss the iPhone 4 Antennagate scandal? Or when he admitted live that MobileMe wasn’t that good and that the company wanted to change that?

I miss this Apple, but it’s hard to imagine the modern Apple announcing something that has “zero new features” or admitting live to its customers that its products are susceptible to flaws.

Apple needs to take a step back and fix its software

Back to the present day, a new Bloomberg report has revealed that Robby Walker, senior director of Siri and Intelligence at Apple, said in a meeting with the Siri team that the Apple Intelligence delays were “ugly” and “embarrassing.”

For context, Apple teased Apple Intelligence last June at WWDC 2024, but none of the features were ready for the first release of iOS 18 and macOS 15. While some of the features arrived months later, the new Siri – which was even promoted in iPhone 16 TV ads – never saw the light of day. But I’d go further than that, as it’s not hard to find many complaints on the web about bugs in Apple’s latest software.

First of all, Apple really shouldn’t announce something that isn’t ready (they should’ve learned from AirPower). But now that Apple has acknowledged that the new Siri isn’t ready, I’d really like to believe that the company will put all its efforts into fixing its software, and making all the features announced last year work as promised.

We shouldn’t worry about having major software updates every year. Instead, it would be great if Apple engineers had more time to fix things before moving on with new features. Apple needs another Snow Leopard. Personally, I don’t think it’s the right time to introduce a major redesign to iOS, as suggested by a recent rumor.

What about you? Would you be okay with a year without new software features to focus on better stability instead? Let me know in the comments section below.

Read also

• Apple commenter John Gruber launches blistering attack on ‘rotten’ Apple over Siri vaporware
• What went wrong with Apple Intelligence Siri development?

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