Are SW releases from Apple throttled?

[AforApple]

hi there folks,

Noob here and starting this thread to gather some info.
Moderators and admins - please merge / edit the thread if something already exists.

I recently found a pattern on SW releases from Apple where anything related to iOS major releases (13, 14, 15), we get these offshore and around the world on the same day (Globally). But minor .releases like (15.0.1, Apple lossless, 4A400 [latest Airpods FW updates]) are first throttled to the US/UK region and then later to other countries like where I'm from (India) with an unknown timeframe. Just trying to get confirmation if this really is the case or is it just me missing something?

 

[Raz0rEdge]

This is case for all releases, major and minor. It's known as a rolling release. Apple is not going to unlock access to every device at the same time, that would be billions of devices wanting to update which would overwhelm the servers and lead to an overall bad experience.

By rolling out the releases over a period of days, the load is managed and everyone gets the experience they expect and get updates in a decent time frame.

 

[lclev]

For those of us that remember back in the olden days, before Apple moved to internet downloads and away from CD's for major OS versions, they would release a new OS or update and their servers would overload. This was when someone at Apple had an epiphany and they started doing rolling releases.

Lisa

 

[AforApple]

This is case for all releases, major and minor. It's known as a rolling release. Apple is not going to unlock access to every device at the same time, that would be billions of devices wanting to update which would overwhelm the servers and lead to an overall bad experience.

By rolling out the releases over a period of days, the load is managed and everyone gets the experience they expect and get updates in a decent time frame.

What I’ve noticed so far is tat, I got the iOS15 update as soon as the word was out. No delays. But I found a delay in the 15.0.1 release and now the 4A400 release (which I’m still waiting for btw). I don’t understand the reasoning or logic behind throttling just specific builds. Clearly they’ve the capacity.

 

[harryb2448]

Well there are delays certainly Down Under we are a day behind with updates. Demand surpasses supply.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

You seem to be missing the point about rolling updates. If you got the iOS 15 update when it was announced, there were many others who had to wait. The opposite happened for other updates.

Let me explain with a simple example. If I want to release an update to 1000 users, my goal would be to release it to 5% of them for the first 2 weeks. So that's 50 users I want to target. These users could be chosen at random or based on specific criteria (location, etc.).

My schedule would be to increase by 5% every 2 weeks, so another 50 after that and so on. Using this methodology, all of my 1000 users will have access to the update over 20 weeks.

This does a couple of things, it allows me to pull the update if it has issues based on the initial group. It allows me to handle any customer issues without overwhelming my support infrastructure with 1000 users calling me at once, only up to 50 would.

 

[AforApple]

You seem to be missing the point about rolling updates. If you got the iOS 15 update when it was announced, there were many others who had to wait. The opposite happened for other updates.

Let me explain with a simple example. If I want to release an update to 1000 users, my goal would be to release it to 5% of them for the first 2 weeks. So that's 50 users I want to target. These users could be chosen at random or based on specific criteria (location, etc.).

My schedule would be to increase by 5% every 2 weeks, so another 50 after that and so on. Using this methodology, all of my 1000 users will have access to the update over 20 weeks.

This does a couple of things, it allows me to pull the update if it has issues based on the initial group. It allows me to handle any customer issues without overwhelming my support infrastructure with 1000 users calling me at once, only up to 50 would.

I’ll add some more background. Yes I’m familiar with Local OTA and Wide OTA and why this is done. I’m currently testing software and as part of my testing, I have iOS devices. Now I need to test my own software with Apple devices on their latest releases. So when I don’t have Apple’s latest build in my testing eco-system, my own software isn’t properly tested. So I’m trying to find out if anyone knows the logic of how the “5%” from your example are selected? Or if there is any data around it? Apple support have hinted they do throttle but stop there.

 

[MacInWin]

Apple does not share distribution decisions. If you are a registered Apple developer, you can contact them directly at the developer support areas. Maybe there is a way for a developer to get early access.

 

[AforApple]

Apple does not share distribution decisions. If you are a registered Apple developer, you can contact them directly at the developer support areas. Maybe there is a way for a developer to get early access.

Yes I am considering the Apple dev account if I have no other choice. The Beta SW versions are different from the final SW version that’s sent to customers and I’d like to be as close to the final build as possible to avoid failures in my SW.

 

[MacInWin]

Yes I am considering the Apple dev account if I have no other choice. The Beta SW versions are different from the final SW version that’s sent to customers and I’d like to be as close to the final build as possible to avoid failures in my SW.

I think you are referring to the beta testing signup, which is, I think, different from the Developer's account process. I'm not a developer, so I don't know how it actually works. All I was trying to suggest is that MAYBE developers, no matter where they are, can get the released updates/upgrades on Day 1 anywhere. And I think developers do get access to the Beta versions before the public betas are released, and maybe to the release version, too, but it's worth asking.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

No company will disclose how they release software and the Developer account will not help in getting early access to final version of software, it just gives you early access to Beta software.

You can proactively check for updates on devices when you know an update has been announced, but if your device doesn't fit the criteria yet, no updates will show up.