A beta feature, yet marketed as the primary selling point of their newest flagship phone. Something feels off about that.

Releasing betas as a public release would not have been something Apple ever used to do.

And I suspect that they were more between a rock and a hard place with respect to "it has been hyped so much, everyone is expecting something, we've promised something. But so far, it ain't great."

Apple of old wouldn't release. Apple now, does. But I don't think it should be necessarily be painted as some kind of deliberate strategy of theirs.