Apple Doesn’t Give a Shit About Developers

Apple launched iOS 11 just over a month ago. A true paradigm shift- they changed some colors, a few buttons, and that one gradient got lighter. Momentous to say the least.

But seriously, for those who are avid app lovers (everyone) and those working in the app economy (again, pretty much everyone) their big change was updating the App Store, with a focus on discovery:

Yes! Win one for the home team, Apple finally solved the problem of discovery. Wow. Nine years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, they finally did it… didn’t they? I mean Apple said it themselves, they are now:

“Sharing stories”

“Highlighting inspiring developers”

“Helping customers find favorites”

“Showcasing your amazing apps”

Holy shit, Apple cares about YOU, the developer. They really care. They finally want you to be successful and for the app you built on your nights and weekends to be found and to be successful. As you read about the new and improved App Store, you start to fantasize about quitting your job and focusing on what you really love. But suddenly that feeling is shattered by your stumbling upon this post, because you will learn right now that none of this is true. Apple doesn’t give a fuck about you.

Don’t you hate being lied to? And who am I to be writing this article? My team analyzed the App Store and its App/Game of the Day featured spot for the first 30 days of its existence to give you insight and data. Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.

Apple’s big move was to separate games and apps but this removed the Top Charts (where you could organically discover & scroll through thousands of apps) as we knew it and hides the new ranks a couple of thumb scrolls down into a separate tab. They also removed grossing ranks and created a ‘Today’ tab where the App of the Day and the Game of the Day are featured.

During the first 30 days, there were some apps I had not heard of but there was and will continue to be a serious lack of “inspiring developers.” Just take a look at some of the apps that have already been featured:

• Starbucks
• The NBC App
• CBS Full Episodes
• Houzz (2,000+ employees)
• Sweat with Kayla (Consistently top rated fitness app)
• The CW (Warner Bros.)
• NBA 2K18 (Electronic Arts, publicly listed)
• The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Electronic Arts, publicly listed)
• Deer Hunter 2017 (Glu Mobile, publicly listed)
• Minecraft (Microsoft)
• Modern Combat Versus (5,000+ employees)
• Middle Earth Shadow of War (Warner Bros.)

And this is just a small sample size of what they are choosing to feature. There were more like this. There is one common theme here… Apple wants to make money. They make 30% of every dollar you spend on or in a mobile app, and they are hoping you will spend more. They know which apps create the biggest spenders and they’re typically made by large companies with big budgets.

By “helping you discover” apps like these, they are trying to help themselves discover more revenue from your credit card you connected to Apple Pay. They have almost no incentive to “promote inspiring developers”. Let’s dive deeper into the numbers:

1. Of the apps Apple featured, they were receiving on average 5,062 downloads a day prior to being featured.
2. At least half of the apps Apple featured were making $10,000 a day in revenue or more. Many were making well over $50,000 a day prior to being featured.

If Apple really wanted to see high quality, smaller developers be successful, why would they create so many barriers to entry?

Keep in mind it’s $100/year to even have a developer account ($40 or free for Google Play). Their ‘Worldwide Developer Conference’, which is marketed to the masses, costs $1,600 for a ticket (not including flight or hotel). It’s essentially the same price to attend WWDC as it is the Super Bowl. I’m starting to wonder which one provides more value.

It is clear at every turn that Apple simply doesn’t care about the little guy and this is totally fine. I get it. My company, Apptopia, is a for profit business and we have no problem with capitalists and businesses who do what makes them the most money.

We just wish they wouldn’t lie about it. Apple, you haven’t solved discoverability. Not at all. Not even a little bit.