Apple's hardcore fans complain: software quality is declining

Marc Almonte, who enjoys a high reputation in the developer circle, is worried about Apple's future.

"Apple's hardware today is great, arguably the best ever," Almonte wrote in a blog post. "However, the quality of its software has taken a sharp decline over the past few years, and I am deeply concerned about the company's future."

Almonte was the chief technology officer of Tumblr, a microblog. After leaving Tumblr, Almonte created Instapaper, the first app that allows users to save pages and read them offline. In addition, Almonte also developed a new podcast app Overcast, whose self-recorded podcasts have many fans in the Apple developer circle.

Almonte's views are not unfounded, and he doesn't like fuss-mongering. Almonte is aware of the reaction his blog posts will cause, so he is usually careful with his words. Almonte said: "Apple has completely lost the functional high ground." Almonte blames Apple's software problems on the company's marketing department. The annual Apple software updates cause too many trivial bugs and problems.

"I think the sharp decline in Apple's software quality is a sign that the marketing department has a bigger say in the company," Almonte said. "The marketing team would definitely want major software updates every year, but that's not possible with a quality-focused engineering team. This may be an engineering problem, but I think any cohesive engineering team that can meet user needs can largely ensure high quality."

On Twitter, other people who usually support Apple also agreed with Almonte's views, including Stratechery analyst Ben Thompson. In addition, Chris Dickson, a partner at the well-known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also tweeted: "Unfortunately, this is the truth."

However, not everyone agrees with this view. Dan Frommel of the news website Quartz said: "Apple can and should do better. The situation is not as terrible as it is said."

Not long ago, veteran iOS developer Russell Ivanovich also criticized the quality of Apple's software.

In the article titled "Making Do," Ivanovich wrote: "I just wish Apple would slow down its hasty pace and take the time to build the stable software that their hardware products so desperately need. The annual release cycle of OS X, iOS, iPhone, and iPad has resulted in too many imperfect products."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.