In a rare move, Apple has hit pause on development of next year’s software updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices so that it can root out glitches in the code.

The delay, announced internally to employees last week, was meant to help maintain quality control after a proliferation of bugs in early versions, according to people with knowledge of the decision. Rather than adding new features, company engineers were tasked with fixing the flaws and improving the performance of the software, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

A spokeswoman for the Cupertino, California-based company declined to comment.