With iOS 26, Apple has made a key strategy shift: it’s no longer pre-announcing major new features that won’t be available for months to come.

Here’s why I think that’s a great decision by Apple, and why it could make for an exciting 12 months.

The iOS 26 strategy shift

Apple’s change in strategy was clearly driven by what happened at WWDC 2024 and during the subsequent iOS 18 cycle. The company pre-announced major new features for Siri, but failed to actually deliver those features.

But iOS 18 wasn’t the first time Apple pre-announced new features at WWDC that didn’t actually ship until subsequent software updates over the following 12 months. It’s a strategy Apple used for several years, covering major new features like Universal Control, Live Activities, SharePlay, and more.

So while Apple’s decision to not pre-announce future iOS 26 features at WWDC was prompted by the iOS 18 debacle, it’s a reversal of a strategy that’s been in place for years.

What does this mean for new iPhone features?

I don’t think this means Apple won’t release any new features for iOS 26 over the next year. What it means is that the new features released in iOS 26.1, iOS 26.2, and beyond will stay a secret until

I’m imagining a world where Apple issues a press release or a short video touting new features, around the same time as the first betas of future iOS 26 updates are released. For example, iOS 26.1 beta 1 will likely be released in September. At that same time, Apple can do a marketing blitz to promote those new features.

This also gives Apple an opportunity to dominate the news cycle on a more regular basis. Instead of dumping everything during a two-hour keynote in June, it can carefully roll out features over the entire 12-month iOS 26 cycle.

Some features slated for future iOS 26 releases have already leaked, such as Live Translation for AirPods and improvements to connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. Apple is also working on at least one new feature for Apple Maps that is seemingly destined for the iOS 26 cycle.

9to5Mac can also independently confirm that their are multiple unannounced new features referenced in iOS 26 code with launch dates targeting the next year.

And of course, we’re still waiting on the previously announced Siri and Apple Intelligence features to ship sometime next year.

Perhaps this is all wishful thinking, and the features Apple has already announced for iOS 26 are the only features we will see until iOS 27 is announced at WWDC 2026. I hope that’s not the case.

I think having a well-crafted rollout of new features for iOS 26 will be quite exciting. Far more exciting than just waiting around for Apple to sporadically release new features that were announced months before.

Source: 9to5mac