Apple ought to launch customization ‘theme packs’ to maintain its units extra enjoyable

Famously, through the launch of the primary iPad, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as soon as claimed that “expertise alone shouldn’t be 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 in regards to the creative. They need pleasing kind elements. 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 means attainable.

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

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

Work to rule

I would not say Apple is doing something unsuitable, per se. Its large September updates to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS inevitably embrace 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 a couple of new watchfaces, and up to date “seasonal” colour palettes. Apple is overdue for launching a third-party face gallery, however I digress.

My concern is the remainder of the 12 months. The corporate releases a tiny little bit of Black Historical past Month materials in February, and comparable Delight Month materials in June…after which, nearly nothing. There’s hardly ever any materials related to Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, or different main non secular holidays, and principally secular occasions like July 4th and Halloween get quick shrift, too. Even in case you are deeply invested in issues like black historical past and LGBT rights, you is perhaps disenchanted by what Apple places out. The 2025 Black Historical past pack consisted of a single Unity wallpaper in a couple of 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 high-quality with present choices, and like their very own wallpapers anyway. I am in all probability far too invested in customized wallpapers, actually — 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 lots of different persons are high-quality with a single image of their associate, household, or pet.

There’s undoubtedly a gaggle on the market, although, that may get enthusiastic about new customizations dropping each month, or a minimum of each few months. Everybody likes free stuff, and Apple has entry to tons of {of professional} artists, in addition to the center of its working methods. It might probably pull off some distinctive visible aptitude. If it needed to, it might 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 high-quality strategy to upend the flexibleness its rivals are identified for.

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

The hindrances

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

The obvious clarification on paper is that Apple has restricted sources. That may sound ludicrous to a few of you, since I am speaking a couple of four-trillion greenback megacorporation, however the firm does have many alternative product traces, all of which demand an enormous quantity of labor simply assist their present software program. The thought of splitting or increasing sources to make issues just a little prettier could also be arduous to justify, notably with Apple Intelligence and Siri nonetheless languishing years behind Google Gemini. The thought of ramping up customization could 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, nevertheless, that Apple really does have sources to spare. It spent billions of {dollars} on its Apple Automobile undertaking, participating in a poaching warfare with Tesla, solely to cancel it unceremoniously because it wavered on what the final word purpose was. Probably the most we bought out of it — if something — could have been CarPlay Extremely and a few enhancements to Apple Maps. If it could actually afford that, it could actually afford to dedicate a couple of million {dollars} yearly in direction of one thing extra of its clients can reap the benefits of.

Maybe Apple is nervous about sustaining a constant aesthetic. It is a generally accepted purpose why Apple took so lengthy to allow us to tint icons a special 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 individuals 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 clients to determine what constitutes “style,” although. Somebody who buys an Apple product does not simply contemplate it a portal into different services and products — they (rightfully) contemplate it their property and an extension of their persona. Most individuals are additionally sensible sufficient to acknowledge that in the event that they tweak one thing, and it does not look nice, that is perhaps their very own fault. If I do not just like the look of a neon-green kitchen renovation, I will blame my very own choices, not the corporate that offered 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 attainable, however I doubt it. Rumors counsel that Apple’s large focus in 2026 will likely be creating an interface for the iPhone Fold, demanding not only a larger and extra versatile structure, however the addition of multi-window assist and another fully new features. 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 maintain the significance of personalization on Apple’s radar by making a sound enterprise case.