Can a free update increase the value of your device?

Usually, when we talk about product development, we think of launching a new device with better specifications. But in the technology sector, a company can add value to a product that has already been sold without changing the device itself.

That is what caught my attention about iOS 27. The update adds improvements to Siri, artificial intelligence, performance, and the user experience, which means that a device a user bought previously can gain new capabilities through software alone.

In my view, this is where a value emerges that is not easy to notice: the software itself has become part of the device’s economic value.

When a Product Continues to Evolve After Being Sold

In the traditional model, a company sells the product and the sales process ends. With smartphones, however, the relationship does not end when the device is purchased.

Ongoing updates can improve the product and add new functions to it, making users feel that their device still delivers value even years after they bought it.

With iOS 27, the improvements included aspects such as faster app launches, content loading, and file transfers, along with an upgrade to Siri that makes it better able to handle personal context and content stored on the device. Some of these improvements reach older devices, while certain AI capabilities require newer devices.

This makes a system update part of the product strategy, rather than merely a technical improvement.

Free Does Not Mean Costless

Users receive the system update without paying a separate fee, but developing it is not free for the company.

Developing operating systems and artificial intelligence requires ongoing spending on research and development, engineers, infrastructure, and cloud services.

Therefore, the financial objective of an update may not be to generate direct revenue from it, but rather to increase the value of the ecosystem the customer uses.

The better and more seamlessly integrated the device experience becomes with other services, the more likely users are to remain within the same ecosystem when they buy a phone, watch, or another device in the future.

One Update… Two Different Effects

There is an intriguing paradox here.

On the one hand, updates can extend a device’s economic lifespan because users receive new features and improvements without having to replace it immediately.

On the other hand, when some advanced features are available only on newer devices, the software itself may become a reason for some users to upgrade.

This enables software to achieve two different objectives: preserving the value of current devices while also highlighting the difference in value between older and newer generations.

What Does an Accountant See?

A user may see a new update and a set of features, while an accountant looks at the relationship between the cost of developing software and the value it can generate for the company over the long term.

The return here does not necessarily appear in the price of the update itself. It may appear in the customer’s continued presence within the ecosystem, increased use of services, continued loyalty to the product, or the decision to purchase a newer device in the future.

In my view, this shows that the value of technology companies comes not only from the devices they sell, but also from their ability to add value to a product even after it reaches the customer’s hands.

So perhaps the question is not: How much does it cost to update the system? but rather: How much value can this update add to the product and the ecosystem as a whole?