The success of platforms such as the Mac, iPhone and iPad has been built on two pillars: Apple’s efforts in creating platforms that engage users and developers that see the potential of these platforms and create amazing apps that give them the ability to flex their creative muscles and earn a living. But not every App Store is a success.
Depending on who you believe, there are somewhere around 1.6 million apps in the IOS App Store. The Mac App Store is smaller with about 30,000 apps. Interestingly the iOS store adds about 15 apps per minute while the Mac store adds the same number per day.
The iPad stop Store is going strong but these comments from Mark Burman tell another part of the story:
…the same can’t be said for Apple’s other platforms. The App Store for the Apple Watch is a ghost town: Developers like Twitter Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. have abandoned it. The Apple TV version is mostly a repository of streaming services, and it’s probably safe to assume that most people aren’t even aware there’s a store for iMessage.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg
While numbers do tell a story, or at least the story Gurman is telling, there is another side to this. The Apple Watch has some very specific use-cases and is not a general purpose device such as the iPhone, iPad or Mac. Simply put, those larger devices can do more things. The Apple Watch is very much a consumption and information delivery tool. Sure, it can record workouts and you can quickly dash out a short message with the onscreen keyboard or with dictation, but that’s not its main purpose.
[Note: I had totally forgotten that there’s an App Store for iMessage]
And that brings us to the Vision Pro
The Vision Pro is a whole new platform and that means developers will need to reimagine a great many things. For a start, they will need to develop for a three dimensional world and not a flat display. Then there’s cost of entry. As it stands, Aussie developers will need to come up with around AUD$5,000 to buy a device so they can effectively test their apps. Emulation of iOS, iPadOS and watchOS is adequate on a Mac because they are two dimensional systems. But the Vision Pro will require a headset.
The limited release of the Vision Pro – it will only be in the USA initially with Australian developers needing to either source a unit from there or wait for the broader release later in 2024 – will slow down developer engagement.
While Apple has created a true technological marvel, it will all be for nothing unless app developers embrace the platform. If the Vision Pro is to be a success for Apple it will need to capture the hearts and minds of developers. If developers don’t come to the spatial computing party, users will not follow.
Apple’s patience will be tested. The Apple Watch took a while before it gained true mainstream acceptance, beyond Apple’s cohort of true believers and fanboys. The small number of apps in the watchOS App Store is more about developers realising it’s not a general purpose platform rather than it being a dead platform.
The Vision Pro will require more patience as the high cost of entry, until a lower cost version comes to market, will slow things down. The success of the visionOS App Store will need to be viewed over years, not days.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.