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

Famously, through the launch of the primary iPad, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as soon as claimed that “expertise alone just isn’t 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 concerning the inventive. 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 manner attainable.

Apple has principally 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 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 concept, however there’s a lot 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 huge 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 difficulty 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, nearly nothing. There’s not often any materials related to Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, or different main non secular holidays, and principally secular occasions like July 4th and Halloween get brief shrift, too. Even in case you are deeply invested in issues like black historical past and LGBT rights, you may be dissatisfied 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 right 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 effective with current choices, and like their very own wallpapers anyway. I am most likely far too invested in customized wallpapers, actually — my iPhone’s homescreen cycles by way of dozens of them each week, and I am at all times on the hunt for extra. I do know lots of different persons are effective with a single image of their accomplice, household, or pet.

There’s undoubtedly a gaggle on the market, although, that will get enthusiastic about new customizations dropping each month, or at the very least each few months. Everybody likes free stuff, and Apple has entry to a whole bunch {of professional} artists, in addition to the center of its working methods. It could actually pull off some distinctive visible aptitude. If it needed to, it may 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 effective strategy to upend the flexibleness its rivals are recognized for.

These adjustments would not essentially persuade anybody to purchase an iPhone or a Mac for the primary time, however it will be one other incentive to remain within the Apple ecosystem. Folks leaping ship to Android or Home windows may miss their month-to-month hit, a lot in the identical manner that I would miss my weekly hit from Spotify’s Launch Radar if I jumped ship to Apple Music. Once I phrase it that manner, 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 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 few 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 current software program. The thought of splitting or increasing sources to make issues somewhat prettier could also be arduous to justify, significantly with Apple Intelligence and Siri nonetheless languishing years behind Google Gemini. The thought 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 way of merchandise like a hub show.

It is fairly clear, nonetheless, that Apple truly does have sources to spare. It spent billions of {dollars} on its Apple Automobile venture, participating in a poaching conflict with Tesla, solely to cancel it unceremoniously because it wavered on what the last word objective was. Essentially the most we obtained out of it — if something — might have been CarPlay Extremely and a few enhancements to Apple Maps. If it may afford that, it may afford to commit a couple of million {dollars} yearly in 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 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. Definitely, some customers appeared to throw style out the window when iOS 18 arrived.

It is as much as clients to resolve what constitutes “style,” although. Somebody who buys an Apple product does not simply think about it a portal into different services and products — they (rightfully) think about 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 does 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 will blame my very own selections, not the corporate that offered 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 attainable, however I doubt it. Rumors counsel that Apple’s huge focus in 2026 will likely be creating an interface for the iPhone Fold, demanding not only a greater and extra versatile structure, however the addition of multi-window assist and another fully 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 hold the significance of personalization on Apple’s radar by making a sound enterprise case.