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The Mac has had an optimization-centric release following a feature release many times (all the Snow releases, El Capitan). I don't remember mass complaints.

(By its name, High Sierra ought to be an optimization of Sierra also, but its bugginess suggests otherwise.)

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There wouldn't be mass complaints. My family are absolute non-techies, while I am something like a techie, and none of us would complain if Apple did a few pure bug-fix releases. Non-techies don't completely understand the current situation where developers care far more about themselves than their users, but they have learned that software "upgrades" will usually waste their time and make their lives worse. Apple can actually fight this, since their users are their customers.

I think the iPhone has historically had more of an attitude of "look at all of the awesome new computer-ey things your phone can do!", whereas computers have always been treated more like appliances. It's much easier to tell a user "the new version of Mac/Windows has absolutely nothing new you care about." than to sit by the wayside while android devices have split-screen and curved displays.

Consumers and shareholders like cell phones because they're shiny.

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