Musings on the WWDC 2020

What is your take on WWDC 2020?

Hope you were all there,

https://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2020/

One thing I surely missed were the claps of real people when something big was announced. Like, when the home screen redesign or the group chat on iOS, or when the move to Apple SoC for the Mac or App Clips were announced. Still, the studio setup was good, liked the outcome.

This year IMO is a turning point for Apple setting course for 2 Trillion in the due course.

iOS, did you notice how the home screen moves close to stock android? The swipe up to get all apps, the widgets etc. Apple was known to keep thing very simple, straight forward and the enemy of complication. With the widgets, and the most accessed app and new installs etc, apple is doing what it never did until now make the home screen cluttered. The jury is not out on this yet. Its a deviation, not small, but still it is. I guess Ivy might have seen this the other way, or is Ivy in league with this? PiP is also so android, and so multi-screen. Honestly, I have never missed them on the iPhone.

Apple is learning from WhatsApp in a good way, so the groups are more closer to what people are used to in other apps, its a me too, blend in, rather than create a unique experience that no one wants to learn, remember and use.

The iPad and iPadOS have seen their last major update, the fork from iOS. Nothing much going on there, and nothing much is needed, not until I can truly code on it...!

I think the biggest announcement, the obvious is the Apple SoC, or Apple's own ARM based compute power for the Mac. This is the leap that I think will take Apple to the next 2 Trillion milestone. They will now own from the foundry to the app store. The reason this is significant is not just technology, but the diversity it creates. We might in 2 years see a 40 core ARM machine, with 10 different dedicated chips for security, privacy, modem, neural, gpu multicore and what not, all built on the Apple made motherboard only on the Mac. Blended in so well with low level API access that it creates a different computer all together. That will also help build a different kind of market, like the current MacBook Air or Pro into something totally new. Imagine a line of a MacBookArtist with the different combo of the silicons or the MacBookTraveller or the MacBookStudent etc, all very finely tuned for totally different needs. It would not be surprising if apple offered far more customisation on its Mac range to suit different performance and budget needs since it can control and offer a far wider configuration with same performance and stability guarantees it does today. This is a huge segment that can grow.

The grand scheme seems evident - "code once and resuse every where" (somehow java had a similar line, where did that go..?). You code once for Apple and use that app in different form factors from the Mac to the iPhone (watch included, not sure yet, its on the S series of chips, but maybe who knows..), thus multiplying the revenue stream for the developers in its app store. The Keyboard support was already added on the iOS family so we had this in the makings anyway.

One major twist, that did not get enough airtime in my view was the app clip. It was not explained in detail on the ramifications on this on the app ecosystem. Both good and bad. The good side for the developers is that you can get discovery by enabling a totally new demand funnel. So the cost of customer acquisition (actually its not full acquisition, but app as a service, wow!) is lowered to large extent as you don't have the install barrier, and don't need to worry about churn. You get your value (and your revenue) right away without the burden of a download. On the bad side, you lose all the instrumentation and stickiness and brand recall you have built into the app.

Imagine if you are GooglePay or PayTm or something similar, you don't need the customer to install your app to get her to use the app clip and make the google pay (I know, there is all that install, login etc, but you get the point), than force the user to have it already on the phone, or force a download on the spot. Both ways you lose the customer, but the clip, ensures you still complete the funnel. This is very radical, as I can see developers now only offering clips and never the full app, if their business can run with it. This is like the Lambda for Apps, or install-less service or App-as-a-Service. You are called only when needed, you do what you do the best, pay apple the cut it takes (I guess it will be lower than the shark bite size it does on in-app purchases now), and you get your revenues.

Reduced development time, effort and cost. This is radical, and in my view this should have got more air time. This is probably the biggest software update Apple had, apart from the MacOS that will support ARM. In-App purchases will now mean a lot more different. I can imagine a Spotify Apple QR code that allows you to use Spotify App Clip for an hour at a coffee bar just to try it for free without forcing an install, how radical will that be..! This in my view will rake up ecosystem or service revenue aiding the run to the 2 T goal post.

The watch needs to really step-up into the health device it wants to be and this is more a hardware barrier than a software one. The watchOS is running full breath and needs more hardware support, there is only so much the intelligence on the edge you can put, until more sensors can help you.

I really want try the 3D sound upgrade the pods, sounds so novelty and raises child like curiosity than a must have. But, still really, how is that going to feel like?

All in all, a good WWDC, online, just like how life is now a days. A mood uplifting event in these locked up times.

Stay safe, wash you hands, keep distance, wear a mask and most importantly keep that smile behind that mask....