Apple catches some flack for their lack of features. The tech punditry whine is grating (”waaa, no memory card reader on the MacBooks”). Most explain this as Apple’s desire for simplicity. And that is probably sometimes right, but what software developers know, and Apple does too, is that when you add a feature, it is very hard to remove it (c.f. firewire on MacBooks). Too many features can keep you from being able to innovate. Case in point:
Remember back to the initial iPhone announcement, when Steve Jobs demoed the Mail application. In the message list, in the upper right corner there was a a view setting. You could choose to see a screen full of mail messages and select each one, or you could choose a split view setting.
When the iPhone shipped that split screen feature was gone, with no explanation. I lamented its loss. Most of my emails only require a quick scan. With Mail’s application poor handling of multiple inboxes, this feature would save me numerous taps.
But Apple’s miserly approach to features allowed them the UI space to for the much needed Edit feature.
While split screen would have saved me a few taps, the Edit feature–allowing multiple selections–saves me hundreds of taps. A great painter needs a canvas to paint, and if you don’t leave any area on your product available for innovation you end up stymied.