Developers key to Apple growth
SAN FRANCISCO • Consumers and developers are walking away winners of Apple Inc.’ s Worldwide Developers Conference this week as the company searches for ways to bring its hardware sales back to positive.
iPhone sales were down 16 per cent year-over-year for Apple’s second fiscal quarter ending in March, causing overall revenue to slide 13 per cent and ending the company’s 13- year streak of quarterly growth.
So Apple had to come out swinging at WWDC, convincing more than 5,000 attendees (and millions of viewers watching at home) to continue using and writing applications for its devices.
The new operating systems coming in the fall are all free upgrades for consumers, something the company has been doing for a few years now. Rather than charging for the upgrade, Apple hopes that by significantly changing its software, it will be enough to keep existing users, bring back those who left and win over those who may not have been impressed before, sparking growth once again.
This year’s WWDC had an underlying theme of openness, giving access to pieces of Apple’s software that developers never could touch before. Continuity and security concerns were given as reasons to keep developers at arm’s length from, say, putting more information into a push notification or accessing its virtual assistant Siri.
Developers worked with it, reluctantly, because Apple users are an appealing enough market due to their high app- downloading tendencies. But some developers have shifted focus to Google Inc.’s Android oper- ating system — the world’s most popular OS — where they have more flexibility.
Apple responded t his week by promising to make iOS a lot more Android-like, which means the developers and users win. Notifications are more interactive, with the additions of photos, videos, maps and more, something akin to features Android users have used for years.
The company’s overhaul of Messages, transforming it from just another communication method to a hub for other applications, won praise from developers as well. Want to buy something you and your friend are talking about without leaving the conversation? Now you can. Need a ride to a location you and your coworkers have been talking about? Hail an Uber right there.
The response from the developer community was “finally,” and “it’s about time.”
Apple is also taking a page from Facebook Inc. and Snapchat’s playbooks by employing third-party animated stickers and bigger emojis — sure to be a hit with the kids.
All of these things may seem trivial, but they are c al c ulated. The i Phone t urns 10 next year, and Apple is in a battle to stay relevant to younger users.
What was not said this week is as telling as what was. Apple abandoned its tradition of sneaking in “one more thing” — usually a hardware refresh or a new product. Prior to the WWDC, rumours flew that a new MacBook Pro or a big- screen monitor were in the offing. Instead, the company stuck to software, whipping through new features at a dizzying pace, leaving the hardware announcements ( a new iPhone?) for later, likely this fall.
It’s a much-needed — if not exactly glamorous — course correction for the software division of the tech giant, one that has the potential to pay off down the line.