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

Famously, throughout 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 typically taken as a bit pretentious on Jobs’ half, however the final level was that expertise should not be an insular factor. Units are utilized by people, and people care concerning the inventive. They need pleasing type 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 means potential.

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 strategy to exploit its philosophy that does not contain spending a fortune on new classes or type components, and even new apps and equipment: giving clients extra methods to customise software program on a extra frequent foundation. It is a easy concept, 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 massive 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” shade palettes. Apple is overdue for launching a third-party face gallery, however I digress.

My challenge is the remainder of the 12 months. The corporate releases a tiny little bit of Black Historical past Month materials in February, and related Satisfaction Month materials in June…after which, just about nothing. There’s not often any materials related to Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, or different main non secular holidays, and largely 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 may be upset 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 have to 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 superb with current choices, and like their very own wallpapers anyway. I am in all probability far too invested in customized wallpapers, the truth is — my iPhone’s homescreen cycles by dozens of them each week, and I am all the time on the hunt for extra. I do know quite a lot of different persons are superb with a single image of their companion, household, or pet.

There’s undoubtedly a bunch on the market, although, that may get enthusiastic about new customizations dropping each month, or not less than each few months. Everybody likes free stuff, and Apple has entry to a whole lot {of professional} artists, in addition to the heart of its working programs. It could actually pull off some distinctive visible aptitude. If it wished 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 will be a superb strategy to upend the flexibleness its rivals are identified 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. 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 obstacles

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

The obvious clarification on paper is that Apple has restricted sources. 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 strains, all of which demand an enormous quantity of labor simply assist their current software program. The concept of splitting or increasing sources to make issues a little bit prettier could also be laborious to justify, significantly 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 merchandise like a hub show.

It is fairly clear, nevertheless, that Apple truly does have sources 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 bought 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 a couple of million {dollars} yearly in the direction of one thing extra of its clients can reap the benefits of.

Maybe Apple is apprehensive about sustaining a constant aesthetic. It is a generally accepted motive 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 possibility 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 clients to determine what constitutes “style,” although. Somebody who buys an Apple product would not simply contemplate it a portal into different services — they (rightfully) contemplate it their property and an extension of their character. Most individuals are additionally sensible sufficient to acknowledge that in the event that they tweak one thing, and it would 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 choices, not the corporate that bought me the brushes and paint cans.

Is there an opportunity Apple goes to take up the thought of extra content material releases and customization choices, maybe beginning with iOS 27? It is potential, however I doubt it. Rumors recommend that Apple’s massive 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 utterly new features. It is not even clear that Apple will ship on the Siri upgrades it first promised in 2024. I am simply hoping that op-eds like this can preserve the significance of personalization on Apple’s radar by making a sound enterprise case.