Apple's hardcore fans complain: software quality is declining

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Marco Arment, who enjoys a high reputation in the developer circle, is worried about Apple's future.

"Apple's hardware today is amazing, arguably the best ever," Almonte wrote in his blog. "However, the quality of its software has taken a sharp decline over the past few years, and I am deeply concerned about the company's future."

Almonte was the chief technology officer (CTO) of the microblog Tumblr. After leaving Tumblr, Almonte created Instapaper, the first application that allows users to save pages and read them offline. In addition, Almonte also developed a new podcast application Overcast, and its self-recorded podcasts have many fans in the Apple developer circle.

Almonte's views are not unfounded, nor does he like to cause a stir. Almonte is aware of the reaction his blog posts will cause, so he usually chooses his words carefully.

"Apple has completely lost the functionality high ground," Almonte said.

Almonte blamed Apple's marketing department for its software problems, which are plagued by too many minor bugs and glitches in its annual software updates.

"I think the sharp decline in Apple's software quality is a sign that the marketing department has a bigger say in the company," Almonte said. "The marketing team would definitely want major software updates every year, but that's not possible with a quality-focused engineering team. This may be an engineering problem, but I think any cohesive engineering team that can meet user needs can largely ensure high quality."

On Twitter, other people who usually support Apple also agreed with Almonte's view, including Stratechery analyst Ben Thompson. In addition, Chris Dixon, a partner at the well-known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also tweeted: "Unfortunately, this is the truth."

However, not everyone agrees with this view. Dan Frommer of the news website Quartz said: "Apple can and should do better. The situation is not as dire as it is said."

Not long ago, veteran iOS developer Russell Ivanovic also criticized the quality of Apple's software.

In the article titled "It Just Works," Ivanovich wrote: "I just wish Apple would slow down its hasty pace and take the time to build the stable software that their hardware products so desperately need. The annual release cycle of OS X, iOS, iPhone and iPad has resulted in too many incomplete products."