I suppose the new MacBook Pros will come with Monterey though, so there should still be some pressure to get the release out on time.
I personally don’t think it is good to do macOS releases and hardware releases at the same moment. The release of Big Sur was a real mess last year, and somehow I believe they would not have released it at the state it was in at that moment if it weren’t for the fact it had to come with the M1 Macs.
For example, in 2019, no Macs were introduced with Catalina, though the 16" MacBook Pro was released just one month later. I think that’s better. Though iOS releases have been tied with iPhone releases for years, so it isn’t a new thing.
I personally don’t think it is good to do macOS releases and hardware releases at the same moment. The release of Big Sur was a real mess last year, and somehow I believe they would not have released it at the state it was in at that moment if it weren’t for the fact it had to come with the M1 Macs.
For example, in 2019, no Macs were introduced with Catalina, though the 16" MacBook Pro was released just one month later. I think that’s better. Though iOS releases have been tied with iPhone releases for years, so it isn’t a new thing.