Apple Apps and Services - Raising the Bar for “Good Enough"

A lot of hype came out of Monday’s WWDC Keynote about apps that Apple has “sherlocked.”  But I think there’s another way to look at all this.

When Apple makes enhancements to core apps, I don’t believe it’s to take marketshare or money away from developers.  I think it’s to raise the bar in a way that makes developer’s apps more valuable.

Often times, developers make money by filling a gap that Apple’s software leaves open.  Think “flashlight” apps on iPhone or a calculator on the iPad.  These missing fundamentals become an opportunity on which developers can capitalize.  However, rarely are these places where developers are pushing the boundaries or advancing the platform and so eventually, Apple catches up and makes a native version that render the 3rd party app redundant.  The “flashlight” apps are perhaps the best modern example; why pay for a separate app you have to launch that turns on a light if Apple includes a free way to do it right inside your control center?

Similarly, when Apple announces improvements like they did at WWDC to the Notes app or launches a new offering like News, the cry is that it will “kill” apps already in that space.  And there I disagree.

Let’s look at Notes.  The features and functions Apple is adding (In-line pictures and links, checklists, etc) have been available in many third-party apps for a long time.  Evernote, for example offers all these and much more within their free tier.  So are people going to abandon Evernote in droves now that Apple’s offering is more compelling?  Hardly.  Apple’s improvements still don’t bring Notes up to par with a service like Evernote.  But it does leap it above the many “just slightly better” offerings in the app store; which are often hastily developed, minimally maintained, and monetized through ads.  Apple leaves plenty of room on the high-end for great developers.  Moves like this are just to raise the bar on the low end.  To make the native offering “good enough” that a user only upgrades when they need something substantially better.  And when that need arises, it can usually command a price tag.

News is much the same.  It’s not going to kill Flipboard for those who have spent a lot of time curating that app to their exact tastes; nor does it offer many of the premium features Flipboard can.  Instead, it’s a gateway to show people what a News app can do for them and a minimum bar that all other news apps must hurdle to command a price.  In this way, Apple pushes the quality of apps and the platform ahead by raising the bar for everyone. (I happen to think there’s a lot more to the News app, but more on that later.)

A rising tide lifts all boats.  By raising the standard for these apps, Apple is asking everyone to push beyond what it does and provide greater value for it’s customers.  It’s what makes iOS and OS X such strong platforms.