Apple ought to launch customization ‘t...

Famously, in the course of the launch of the primary iPad, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as soon as claimed that “expertise alone isn’t sufficient,” arguing that it was “expertise married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields the outcomes that makes our hearts sing.” That was usually taken as a bit pretentious on Jobs’ half, however the final level was that expertise should not be an insular factor. Gadgets are utilized by people, and people care concerning the creative. They need pleasing kind components. They need good fonts. They need to have the ability to draw, listen to music, and browse their photographs, not simply jam out spreadsheets and code in essentially the most environment friendly method doable.

Apple has largely carried on that precept, if not taken it to extremes when you think about gadgets just like the iPhone Air. However for all of that, it appears to me that the corporate is lacking out on an apparent approach to exploit its philosophy that does not contain spending a fortune on new classes or kind components, and even new apps and equipment: giving prospects extra methods to customise software program on a extra frequent foundation. It is a easy thought, however there’s loads value elaborating on.

What’s incorrect with what Apple’s already doing?

Work to rule

I would not say Apple is doing something incorrect, per se. Its large September updates to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS inevitably embody new wallpapers and customization choices, as an illustration altering what you are able to do with widgets or your lockscreen. tvOS will get occasional screensaver additions, whereas watchOS will get just a few new watchfaces, and up to date “seasonal” shade palettes. Apple is overdue for launching a third-party face gallery, however I digress.

My situation is the remainder of the 12 months. The corporate releases a tiny little bit of Black Historical past Month materials in February, and comparable Pleasure Month materials in June…after which, nearly nothing. There’s hardly ever any materials linked to Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, or different main spiritual holidays, and largely secular occasions like July 4th and Halloween get brief shrift, too. Even if you’re deeply invested in issues like black historical past and LGBT rights, you may be disillusioned by what Apple places out. The 2025 Black Historical past pack consisted of a single Unity wallpaper in just a few variations, and a single watchface restricted to an imprecise analog dial with simply two issues. Look, a lot of my household is black — however I must know time all the way down to the minute, and I have been spoiled by the Modular Extremely face, which permits as much as seven issues.

To be honest, lots of people are wonderful with current choices, and like their very own wallpapers anyway. I am most likely far too invested in customized wallpapers, in truth — my iPhone’s homescreen cycles by way of dozens of them each week, and I am all the time on the hunt for extra. I do know quite a lot of different individuals are wonderful with a single image of their associate, household, or pet.

There’s undoubtedly a gaggle on the market, although, that might get enthusiastic about new customizations dropping each month, or a minimum of each few months. Everybody likes free stuff, and Apple has entry to lots of {of professional} artists, in addition to the center of its working methods. It could pull off some distinctive visible aptitude. If it wished to, it may launch new icon packs, new filters, and new fonts, permitting everybody to create a glance that is one-of-a-kind. That may be a wonderful approach to upend the flexibleness its rivals are recognized for.

These modifications would not essentially persuade anybody to purchase an iPhone or a Mac for the primary time, however it might be one other incentive to remain within the Apple ecosystem. Individuals leaping ship to Android or Home windows may miss their month-to-month hit, a lot in the identical method that I would miss my weekly hit from Spotify’s Launch Radar if I jumped ship to Apple Music. Once I phrase it that method, it is obscure why Apple is not already invested in an idea like theme packs.

The obstacles

What’s holding Apple again, and a few ultimate ideas

The obvious rationalization on paper is that Apple has restricted assets. Which may sound ludicrous to a few of you, since I am speaking a few four-trillion greenback megacorporation, however the firm does have many alternative product traces, all of which demand an enormous quantity of labor simply help their current software program. The concept of splitting or increasing assets to make issues a bit of prettier could also be onerous to justify, notably with Apple Intelligence and Siri nonetheless languishing years behind Google Gemini. The concept of ramping up customization might not have even crossed the C-suite’s thoughts. Heck, it is on the verge of reinvigorating its smart home lineup by way of merchandise like a hub show.

It is fairly clear, nonetheless, that Apple really does have assets to spare. It spent billions of {dollars} on its Apple Automotive undertaking, partaking in a poaching warfare with Tesla, solely to cancel it unceremoniously because it wavered on what the last word objective was. Probably the most we received out of it — if something — might have been CarPlay Extremely and a few enhancements to Apple Maps. If it could afford that, it could afford to dedicate just a few million {dollars} yearly in the direction of one thing extra of its prospects can reap the benefits of.

Maybe Apple is nervous about sustaining a constant aesthetic. It is a generally accepted cause why Apple took so lengthy to allow us to tint icons a unique shade, and why it nonetheless limits watchfaces. The extra customizable issues are, the upper the prospect of clashing and even damaged interface parts, which could flip some folks off and have an effect on word-of-mouth. Actually, some customers appeared to throw style out the window when iOS 18 arrived.

It is as much as prospects to determine what constitutes “style,” although. Somebody who buys an Apple product does not simply think about it a portal into different services and products — they (rightfully) think about it their property and an extension of their persona. Most individuals are additionally good sufficient to acknowledge that in the event that they tweak one thing, and it does not look nice, that may be their very own fault. If I do not just like the look of a neon-green kitchen renovation, I’ll blame my very own selections, not the corporate that bought me the brushes and paint cans.

Is there an opportunity Apple goes to take up the concept of extra content material releases and customization choices, maybe beginning with iOS 27? It is doable, however I doubt it. Rumors recommend that Apple’s large focus in 2026 will likely be creating an interface for the iPhone Fold, demanding not only a greater and extra versatile structure, however the addition of multi-window help and another utterly new capabilities. It isn’t even clear that Apple will ship on the Siri upgrades it first promised in 2024. I am simply hoping that op-eds like it will preserve the significance of personalization on Apple’s radar by making a sound enterprise case.