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 “know-how alone will not be sufficient,” arguing that it was “know-how 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 know-how should not be an insular factor. Units are utilized by people, and people care concerning the creative. They need pleasing type elements. They need good fonts. They need to have the ability to draw, listen to music, and browse their pictures, not simply jam out spreadsheets and code in essentially the most environment friendly manner doable.

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 method to exploit its philosophy that does not contain spending a fortune on new classes or type elements, and even new apps and equipment: giving prospects extra methods to customise software program on a extra frequent foundation. It is a easy concept, however there’s loads price 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 embody new wallpapers and customization choices, for example altering what you are able to do with widgets or your lockscreen. tvOS will get occasional screensaver additions, whereas watchOS will get just a few new watchfaces, and up to date “seasonal” coloration 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 comparable Pleasure Month materials in June…after which, just about nothing. There’s not often any materials linked 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 if you’re deeply invested in issues like black historical past and LGBT rights, you is likely to be upset by what Apple places out. The 2025 Black Historical past pack consisted of a single Unity wallpaper in just a few 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 superb with present choices, and like their very own wallpapers anyway. I am most likely far too invested in customized wallpapers, in actual fact — 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 loads of different persons are superb with a single image of their accomplice, household, or pet.

There’s undoubtedly a bunch 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 a whole lot {of professional} artists, in addition to the heart of its working techniques. It could 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 might be a superb method 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. Individuals 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 hindrances

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

The obvious rationalization on paper is that Apple has restricted assets. 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 various product traces, all of which demand an enormous quantity of labor simply help their present software program. The concept of splitting or increasing assets 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 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 assets to spare. It spent billions of {dollars} on its Apple Automotive challenge, participating in a poaching struggle with Tesla, solely to cancel it unceremoniously because it wavered on what the last word objective was. Probably the most we acquired out of it — if something — might have been CarPlay Extremely and a few enhancements to Apple Maps. If it could possibly afford that, it could possibly afford to dedicate just a few million {dollars} yearly in the direction of one thing extra of its prospects can benefit from.

Maybe Apple is anxious 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 prospects to resolve what constitutes “style,” although. Somebody who buys an Apple product does not simply think about it a portal into different services — they (rightfully) think about it their property and an extension of their character. Most individuals are additionally good sufficient to acknowledge that in the event that they tweak one thing, and it does not look nice, that is likely to 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 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 doable, however I doubt it. Rumors counsel that Apple’s huge focus in 2026 will probably be creating an interface for the iPhone Fold, demanding not only a larger and extra versatile format, however the addition of multi-window help and another fully new capabilities. 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 this may maintain the significance of personalization on Apple’s radar by making a sound enterprise case.