Why Do Softwares Update So Much?
Weekly Wheaties #2605
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Why Do Softwares Update So Much?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Apple Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Tesla Updates
😎 Pick of the Week: Music Picks
📦 Featured Product: Goodr and Meta Sunglasses
📝 Why do softwares update so much?
If you’ve used a computer or phone for at least a month or so, you’ve dealt with the Operating System (OS), apps, or softwares therein wanting to update. Perhaps you’ve even lost work from a computer randomly restarting on you in the middle of a workday. Apologies if this has ever been the case. The reasons an OS updates so much and requires a restart are fairly straightforward: security patches.
Apple’s Mac OS follows an annual version release in the fall after announcing it at their WWDC in June earlier in the year. Patches and updates are more frequent, but can come as needed, anywhere between 4-8 weeks. You can follow all changes in their Release Notes.
Microsoft’s Windows OS also provides major updates in the second half of the calendar year, but provides security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. You can also follow their Update release cycle.
Put simply, the larger the codebase is for a piece of software, the more it needs to be updated. These updates can include security patches as mentioned above, but may also include fixes for compatibility issues, bugs in the code, or even smaller functional or user experience updates. Many of these updates are for things you’d never see and/or interact with. In fact, there are even an Apple Security Bounty Program and a Microsoft Bug Bounty Program, where other developers can submit their findings for monetary rewards.
As these companies add and remove features, they have to push updates to their users. Once a new update is implemented, the process of finding new [bugs, issues, etc.] theoretically starts all over again. A small change in one part of the code can cause a larger change in another part of the code, too. On top of that, the more and more users who are interacting with the software on a daily basis, they find more and more issues. Then again, the larger customer base a piece of software has, the bigger a target it becomes for security threats - thereby causing more and more frequent updates.
In many cases, updates require a restart (at least on a computer) to finish installing the updates and make the new code ‘active.’ In other cases, you may simply be required to re-login to your account within the app or software in question. Again, this is to make sure your account is connected properly after the software reloads the new code.
Within mobile and desktop applications, this happens much more frequently. Here, not only are the apps updating themselves, but they must update to meet the demands of the new OS code on the phone or device. Not only that, new features can allow new ways of interacting with the app, security issues must be patched, or the app may be blocked (if not removed), and as each new update is pushed out, older devices may no longer support the new code, causing the apps to break as well.
Another thing app developers deal with is the idea of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). In simple terms, what can a developer code, build, and ship that allows their app to complete the core features of what they have in mind. Gone are the days of shipping full-featured finished products. Developers know consumers will adapt, provide feedback for future features wanted, but more than that, they know the importance of being first to market, or at least “one of the” first to market.
Similar to the idea stolen from investments, “time in the market” beats “timing the market.” Many of the popular apps that are popular have been around for much longer than you may have heard about them. Of course, there are some that get wildly popular overnight, but those also aren’t guaranteed to stick around. Slow, sustainable growth is what keeps these softwares and apps afloat for the long run.
Another concept that requires frequent updates comes from Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Put simply, “Move fast and break things.” They have grown so large, the break things part has been removed from the mantra, but the premise still stands. The more you change, the more updates are shipped, causing the users to want more features, causing the software to change, and repeat…
So, the next time your computer asks to restart, or an app needs to update before you’re able to use it, try to see it less as an interruption and more as evidence that the software is still being updated with features and security patches. Instead of clicking “remind me later” multiple times, treat updates like routine maintenance and set aside time to verify they are, in fact, installed and up to date.
🗞️ ICYMI: Apple Updates
Apple introduced a new AirTag last week, which keeps the same price of $29. MacRumors shared 10+ Things to Know About the New AirTag 2, but the big picture things include better Bluetooth with a longer range (1.5x), and a louder speaker (with a new tone). The new AirTag requires an updated iOS, which also means it won’t work on devices that aren’t able to support iOS 26. Apple also forecasts strong sales growth as iPhone demand in Asia rebounds, and that “holiday-quarter results beat estimates, with CEO Tim Cook telling Reuters that demand for the latest handsets was "staggering.””
🗞️ ICYMI: Tesla Updates
A couple of weeks ago, Tesla Announced FSD Purchase Option Will Go Away for one-time purchases. What that meant was customers could no longer purchase full self-driving outright after February 14, and will lock lane-keeping behind a $99/month fee. However, FSD does come bundled with the Model S, Model X, and the Cybertruck. That is, until later this year as Tesla is killing off the Model S and Model X in lieu of “moving into a future that is based on autonomy.” Those production facilities will build Optimus robots moving forward.
😎 POTW: Music Picks
Moving on in the entertainment space, here are some music picks for you to enjoy!
📦 Featured Product
Almost 3 years ago now, I talked about how Goodrs are some of my favorite purchases under $100, then again about how I always carry a pair in my EDC. I still have multiple pairs and use them just about every day. I’m not quite ready to make the jump to smartglasses yet, but every person I know or see with the Meta Ray-Bans absolutely loves them. The Gen 1 version appears to still be holding strong, but the Gen 2 version adds longer battery life and an upgraded camera. Both versions are available with a clear lens, a polarized lens, or a transition lens.
