It seems that Apple has changed course with iOS 17 during the development process, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. Initially intended to focus on bug fixes and performance improvements, the update will now reportedly include several new features, indicating that it may have a more significant impact than previously anticipated.
According to a recent edition of the Power On newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the upcoming iOS 17 was originally intended to focus primarily on bug fixes and performance improvements, rather than introducing many new features. Gurman had previously indicated that development of the operating system for the Apple Reality headset had taken priority over iOS 17 feature development.
Earlier this year in January, Gurman had speculated that the iOS 17 update may not be as significant as previous iPhone updates due to Apple’s emphasis on developing their mixed-reality headset. However, in the latest edition of his newsletter, Gurman noted that Apple had changed its strategy during the development process, adding in several new features to iOS 17. Despite this, no specifics on what these features would be were disclosed, iOS 17 is being internally referred to as ‘Dawn’.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which takes place annually in June, is expected to be the venue where Apple will officially announce iOS 17, along with other major operating system versions such as watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and macOS 14. The event is also highly anticipated for the unveiling of the long-awaited headset project, which will run on Apple’s new operating system, xrOS. This marks the first time the public will get a glimpse of the new technology, which has been in development for some time.
Apple typically previews its major software updates at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June before launching them in the fall. Similarly, iOS 17 is expected to be previewed at the upcoming WWDC 2023, which is rumored to take place on June 5th. The update is expected to bring a range of new features and improvements, including a next-generation CarPlay experience, changes to Siri, support for sideloading and alternate app stores, and support for the long-awaited mixed-reality headset, among other features.
Gurman also revealed in his latest “Power On” newsletter that the Apple mixed-reality headset was recently demonstrated to company executives at the Steve Jobs Theater, suggesting that the device may be close to a public unveiling. This follows previous reports that the headset has been in development for several years.
Source: Bloomberg