Apple has released eight iOS 13 updates over the past two months in an effort to push out fix bugs that users have encountered. Now a new report explains how Apple is changing the way it makes iOS software and what it's doing for iOS 14.
Apple software development teams will begin using "daily builds" of upcoming software updates that disable features that are buggy or unfinished by default. Bloomberg explains that those feature can then use a new Flags internal settings menu to selectively enable those features so that they can see how each one impacts the overall iOS build. This will help to better test the features and isolate any issues that need fixing.
Today's report reveals that back in August, Apple's software engineers determined that they wouldn't be able to get iOS 13 up to their quality standards in time for its launch the next month, and so they decided to mostly abandon it and focus on iOS 13.1. It's said that Apple considers iOS 13.1 the "actual public release".
Looking ahead, Apple is working on iOS 14 and is placing a focus on performance. The company is applying its "daily builds" method of software development with iOS 14 and is considering delaying some iOS 14 features until iOS 15's launch in 2021 so that it can make sure iOS 14 is more stable. It's said that iOS 14 is codenamed "Azul" and that iOS 15 is "Azul +1".
This doesn't mean that iOS 14 will be completely devoid of new features, though, as it's expected that iOS 14 will rival iOS 13 in its number of new features.
This isn't the first time that we've heard about Apple placing a focus on improving iOS performance. Apple reportedly delayed some iOS 12 features to improve performance, and back in 2015, it was said that Apple was placing a "huge" focus on bug fixes and stability after updates to iOS 7 and iOS 8 affected overall stability. New features can be exciting, but that excitement can be dampened if your overall experience is poor. And so after pushing out eight iOS 13 updates in two months to fix buggy performance, it could be a good idea for Apple to place a focus on stability with iOS 14.
