We heard last month that Apple was setting a new focus for iOS 12: prioritizing quality and reliability over shiny new features.

A new report provides more detail on the thinking behind the change, and how it will be implemented …

The rationale is two-fold, says a Bloomberg report:

  • Improve overall software quality
  • Ensure new iOS features are delivered when promised

This will be made possible by moving away from the pressure to introduce a whole raft of new features each year.

Engineers will be given the authority to push back features they consider aren’t ready for prime-time.

The shift is an admission of what many customers have already come to notice: Some Apple software has become prone to bugs and underdeveloped features. In recent months, users have complained about text messages appearing out of order, the iPhone X registering incoming phone calls late and frequent app crashes.

The change, announced by Federighi last month, is said to represent a major rethink of the company’s priorities.

Perhaps reflecting a calmer, less-harried approach, the codename for iOS 12 is said to be Peace.

But the feature-packed upgrades place huge demands on Apple’s beleaguered engineers […] Under the previous system, a person familiar with Apple says, “inevitably, some things will be late because you underestimated how long it would take. Some things have to be cut, some things have to be rushed. It’s the result of having thousands of people working on the same schedule.”

However, there are some new features planned for this year, despite the increased focus on performance and stability. Bloomberg says a redesigned stock-trading app is on the way, as well as an updated version of Do Not Disturb that “will give users more options to automatically reject phone calls or silence notifications.”

Furthermore, Apple is said to be working to “more deeply” integrate Siri into the iOS search view, as well as add support for multi-player ARKit gaming.

Apple also has updates planned for its Animoji feature:

We heard last time that a revamped Home screen was one of the new features that has been pushed back, and this morning’s report says that a number of iPad features are also being delayed.

Plans to allow iOS apps to run on the Mac are, however, said to be proceeding on schedule.