On the finish of the WWDC 2025 keynote address on Monday, the corporate actually sang its praises to app builders, as singer-songwriter Allen Stone humorously turned prospects’ constructive App Retailer evaluations into music lyrics for a tune titled “6 out of 5 stars.”
“Finest app I’ve ever set my sorry eyes upon,” he crooned. “This isn’t an app. It’s a bit of artwork.”
What Apple didn’t point out, nevertheless, was something associated to the tumultuous previous few years for its developer neighborhood, or extra broadly, why its builders ought to proceed to place their belief in an organization that’s combating them for each nickel and dime whereas failing them in different methods.
Lately, the Cupertino-based tech big has put its app developer neighborhood by way of the wringer because it stringently fought in opposition to regulation, lawsuits, and some other efforts to rein in its alleged App Store monopoly by nations, lawmakers, and the courts.
In the meantime, it has but to ship on a number of the key know-how advances that would modernize builders’ apps for the AI period.
In March, it delayed its “extra customized,” AI-powered Siri, demonstrated finally yr’s WWDC. Apple only briefly acknowledged this fumble throughout this yr’s keynote handle, when SVP of Software program Engineering Craig Federighi mentioned the work “wanted extra time” to satisfy Apple’s excessive bar.
At WWDC, Apple scattered mentions of AI associated to options that Google’s AI already has, akin to Apple’s AI-powered translation features, although it tried to distinguish from Google by providing lyrics translation in Apple Music. Apple’s AI-powered Visible Intelligence function was even demonstrated by tapping into Google’s app for picture search outcomes, one thing that feels extra native on Android gadgets with improvements like Circle to Search, Lens’ multisearch, visual search in videos, and extra.
Elsewhere, Apple appeased builders’ demand for AI with additional integrations with OpenAI know-how, just like the addition of ChatGPT in Apple’s Image Playground app and coding assistance in Xcode. However no offers with different AI suppliers have been introduced, regardless of rumors that Google Gemini integration was on the best way and that Apple was teaming up with Anthropic on an AI-powered coding help device.
Apple additionally made its scripting and automations app Shortcuts easier to use with the addition of AI features, however this ended up feeling extra like a stop-gap to tide over energy customers till an AI Siri may take actions of their apps for them.
Then there was the deafening silence over the more and more controversial App Retailer commissions.
Within the U.S., as an example, Apple is recent off a key loss in its battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games that forces Apple to now allow U.S. builders to level to various fee mechanisms on the internet, the place it could actually’t take a fee.
But Apple didn’t spend time throughout its hour-and-a-half-long keynote to speak about how its App Retailer is one of the best place to construct an app enterprise, enhancements it’s made to fee processing methods, or the way it’s removing scams. (It touted a few of its developer advantages within the days main as much as WWDC, the place it targeted on its anti-fraud features and developer revenues.)
Apple additionally launched a standalone Games app, however the keynote handle targeted on the patron advantages — Challenges, social options, quick access to Apple’s personal gaming retailer, Arcade — not on what it may do for cellular builders.
Nor, as some had hoped, did Apple announce a discount in its App Retailer commissions throughout the board for all builders, lastly placing the query to relaxation as as to whether Apple’s in-app funds system is value its value.
Whereas arguably extra developer-focused enhancements will roll out this week at WWDC, by way of its developer keynote, Platforms State of the Union, and its varied periods, Apple missed an opportunity to shock its developer neighborhood with some kind of acknowledgement that it’s understood that these previous years have been powerful, however in the end it’s on builders’ sides.
As an alternative, the one reference thus far to the altering market dynamics of the App Retailer ecosystem was a small replace to its App Review Guidelines, which has swapped out the wording “various app market” for “various distribution” — a delicate reminder that Apple solely thinks the one app “market” that may exist is its personal App Retailer.
As for enhancing builders’ companies, Apple gave the impression to be pondering of itself and its personal coffers first. Within the preliminary developer beta of iOS 26, the App Retailer opens as much as its Search web page by default, which means that Apple is pushing builders to spend extra on its App Retailer Search advertisements for discovery.
Different adjustments level to Apple seeing builders as simply one other lever to be pulled to make the corporate extra money, whereas it focuses on delighting customers with new bells and whistles, like its interface design overhaul dubbed Liquid Glass.
Although impressed by its VR headset Imaginative and prescient Professional, Apple didn’t provide builders a proof as to why they need to make over their completely practical apps to satisfy these new design guidelines. The corporate may have not less than hinted at the truth that Liquid Glass appears an apparent precursor to constructing an working system that can ultimately lengthen past smartphones and tablets to succeed in new computing platforms, like AR glasses.
However Apple’s cultural desire for maintaining secrets and techniques, regardless of years of complete leaks, largely from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, saved it from suggesting that Liquid Glass was something however an up to date new look to wow customers.
In wrapping the occasion by singing cheery App Retailer evaluations (a system now beset by bots and faux evaluations, as builders know), Apple tried to lighten the temper. It knew that this yr’s occasion would let down its developer neighborhood with its AI delays, amid an aggressive pursuit of developer income.
The top end result made the music really feel like a performative act of developer appreciation — yes, an precise efficiency! — relatively than a real reflection of how useful builders are to Apple’s skill to ship extra iPhones and make customers comfortable.