With the Xcode ribbon of sympathy: Why many devs remain loyal to Apple

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Berlin, end of April. On this Tuesday, the sun is shining warmly from the sky in front of Apple's capital city headquarters above a hip, renovated hotel in Mitte. But the warmth emanating from an event inside the historic building is even more palpable. 110 developers and app managers have gathered there at the invitation of the German App Store editorial team for Developer Day. With a fantastic view over parts of Berlin, there is laughter and discussion, but almost no arguing.

A few weeks before the WWDC developer conference, this event, to which the trade press is also invited, is an exciting mood check. Of course, the content is different: the developers are once again told about the advantages of Apple Intelligence, discuss monetization strategies and other important topics of their daily work. For the journalists, there is a round table with some developers, where they discuss the advantages of the Mac in the context of small and medium-sized companies and present their apps (tenor: the Mac is standard – and very popular with developers). Afterwards, there is still the opportunity to exchange ideas with all the participants, who alternate between quick pitches ("With this app, they're donating another meal to Unicef") and warm reunions ("I remember when Ulysses GmbH was still called The Soulmen").

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Apps aus Deutschland: Vier Beispiele (4 Bilder)

But beyond the content, this Dev Day also seems to be a kind of self-affirmation: In the early years of the App Store, the audience at the worldwide developer conference WWDC would howl with delight when Steve Jobs would flash the billion-dollar payout check and muse about how much developers and Apple benefit from each other. But can Apple still be sure of developers' approval in the spring of 2025? Or is it really bubbling under the surface?

Lots of crunch potential

Anyone following the news over the last few weeks could sense a lot of crunch potential ahead of the global developer conference WWDC: there is the US judge who has used harsh words to order Apple to finally implement her ruling. App developers should be allowed to sell their services outside the App Store and link to them in their apps without paying extra fees. Meanwhile, the European Commission is criticizing Apple's competitive behaviour, accusing the US company of even hindering sideloading and alternative app stores. And then, of course, there is the discussion about Apple's artificial intelligence – the better Siri is a long time coming, and what about Apple's AI development tools?

But if you talk to the small and medium-sized developers in Berlin, you won't get the impression that Apple's relationship with its App Store developers is clouded ahead of the big developer conference in June. Sure, when it comes to AI, you would wish for more – Most of the people I talk to have been using it for a long time – but then it's Microsoft's Copilot and Claude Code that are being used. Apple AI interfaces and tools, which could come this year and are eagerly awaited, are expected to provide better data protection and a deeper understanding of the specific needs of the Apple world. And, of course, the question about Apple's royalties is always answered with a laugh: "Of course we'd like to give up fewer percentages. Who wouldn't?".

From rags to riches

However, billionaire plaintiffs such as Tim Sweeney from Epic Games, who wants to fight for a far-reaching opening, or the loud rumblings of Apple's music streaming competitor and market leader Spotify are reportedly met with little sympathy from the audience. Alternative app marketplaces, as introduced by the EU? They only create additional work without any recognizable gain. "We'd have to hire two first," says one of the developers –. After all, Apple does everything for you. "One click takes you to 164 countries," says Kai Koch from Ahead. "It makes little sense to do it yourself." For the big players, some people agree, but it certainly does. Another dev admits that it would of course be nice to have to give a little less of a percentage to Apple. But is it worth it?

And then there it is, the rift – but not between Apple and developers in general, but between the needs and views of small and large developers. The chance of successfully publishing an app worldwide as a one-man show or as a small start-up team has become smaller in view of the many apps in the store. But they still exist, these success stories. In attendance were bosses and founders of app developers who can easily feed 50 to 100 mouths in their company. Medium-sized hidden champions, all thanks to the App Store. From dishwasher to millionaire, so to speak: And fortunately, Apple provides a dishwasher for this, instructs the new dishwashers comprehensively, gives tips and assistance – that welds them together.

Apple's love for small developers

Most of the money for Apple's growing Services division is certainly made by the big players in the App Store, who – are aware of their importance and are very self-confident –. But Apple's heart still beats recognizably for the little ones, who lend the company glamour and glory – and who, it is also true, are easier for the company to control. With measures such as the Small Business Program, which grants developers with a turnover of less than one million US dollars per year significantly lower levies, the iPhone manufacturer took the pressure off precisely this group when the discussion about excessive levies began. They wisely did not do the same for the big players who acted as plaintiffs and vociferous critics.

Of course, this is all strategy. Nothing could be more dangerous for Apple than the all-encompassing alliance of large and small developers that Sweeney, who runs his own – app store, albeit a cheaper one –, would like to conjure up. But just a few weeks before WWDC, this alliance is not in sight, not even in the slightest. The major conflicts surrounding the App Store hardly play a role on a small scale. At most, we are annoyed by a slow-reacting App Review, the gatekeeper system for iOS apps, – or by its sometimes strange decisions. And Apple's bond of friendship with small and medium-sized developers is even thicker than the rules and regulations that the company imposes on its partners in the App Store. It looks like sunshine in Cupertino for June this year too.

Contributor: Ben Schwan

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