Available to over 30 Million Apple Developers Worldwide, Apple WWDC Starts June 6th

Kicking off next week on Monday with a keynote address, WWDC has a full roster of events online and is free to Apple developers

Launching June 6th with a keynote at 10 am PDT, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, includes its regular keynote and Platforms State of the Union, as well as the latest technologies, tools, and frameworks for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. The keynote address will be available at Apple.com, on the Apple developer app, Youtube and Apple TV app. Developers can connect directly with Apple engineers and designers through labs and Digital Lounges.

Apple Keynote

June 6, 10 a.m. PDT

Platforms State of the Union

June 6, 1 p.m. PDT

Apple Design Awards

June 6, 5 p.m. PDT

Access to Experts

Starts June 6th and videos are posted from June 7th onwards.

Activities

Digital Lounge meetings, FAQ, and sessions

Swift Student Challenge

Showcase student coding through Swift Playgrounds app project.

Developers can also access all WWDC content, registration, news, feature stories, and documentation at developer.apple.com.

App Store Generates $519 Billion Dollars in Commerce in 2019

With global sales surpassing half a trillion dollars in 2019 alone, Apple’s App Store offers a flourishing dynamic and competitive platform for e-commerce for developers and companies worldwide

Market research conducted by independent economists at the Analysis Group in a new study revealed the scale of the App store’s economy and where the highest value categories lie — mobile commerce (m-commerce) apps, digital goods and services apps, and in-app advertising. This encompasses the full range of the entire app ecosystem of the App Store that has spurred innovation in 175 countries, transforming the way that we connect, learn and work.

The App Store launched in 2008. Today, the App Store is home to almost 2 million apps and is visited by half a billion people each week across 175 countries, helping creators and curious people eager to learn and connect.

“The App Store is a place where innovators and dreamers can bring their ideas to life, and users can find safe and trusted tools to make their lives better.”

— Tim Cook, Apple CEO

The Analysis Group study looked at 2019 data to capture an accurate snapshot of the full App Store ecosystem, taking into account all sources of commerce. The study revealed that sales from physical goods and services accounted for the largest share of 2019 sales at $413 billion. In that category, m-commerce apps generated the majority of sales, and retail was the largest within this division at $268 billion. Retail apps included apps of traditional brick-and-mortar stores such as Target and Best Buy, and virtual marketplaces that sell physical goods, such as Etsy. They do not include grocery delivery, which is its own category.

Image by Jean-Marc Giboux | Credit: AP Images for Target — Image by Jean-Marc Giboux | Credit: AP Images for Target

Other m-commerce apps that also generated significant sales from physical goods and services included travel apps such as Expedia and United, that accounted for $57 billion; ride-hailing apps, including Uber and Lyft, comprised $40 billion in sales; and food delivery apps, including DoorDash and Grubhub, making up $31 billion.

Billings and sales from digital goods and services totaled $61 billion. This category included apps for music and video streaming, fitness, education, ebooks and audiobooks, news and magazines, and dating services, among others. Games were the most popular apps within this category. Notable games of 2019 included “Mario Kart Tour,” which was the most downloaded game of 2019, and “Sky: Children of the Light” from indie developer thatgamecompany, which won Apple’s 2019 iPhone Game of the Year.

In-app advertising sales also accounted for $45 billion, and of that, 44 percent was derived from games. Non-gaming apps that generate substantial in-app advertising sales are often free to download and use, such as Twitter and Pinterest, though others also offer in-app purchases to access content, such as The New York Times and MLB.com.

Changes Due to COVID-19

As social distancing protocols have become common worldwide due to COVID-19, individuals have changed the way they live and are using more apps. Social apps help friends and families stay connected, while education and business collaboration apps are helping students and employees adjust to remote working environments. Food and grocery delivery apps have benefited from increased consumer demand at the same time that apps related to businesses that have faced restrictions, or those that require in-person interactions, have seen a sharp drop-off. Many brick-and-mortar businesses have also turned to mobile commerce, including some that may otherwise have been forced to close without access to this alternative and popular digital platform.

How Can Spotify Offer a Great Podcast App? Let’s Take a Look

The streaming music giant has shared its ambitions of becoming the world’s biggest and most popular podcasting platform. Here are six suggestions.

Image via Spencer Camp at Prototypr.io — Image via Spencer Camp at **Prototypr.io**

Spotify recently announced its acquisition of both Gimlet Media and Anchor, boosting up its podcasting abilities significantly. The podcasting industry is expected to grow to $700 million by 2020 in the United States alone. While Spotify has declared its intention to dominate the podcasting space, there are some things the company will need to do to become a podcasting haven.

Separate podcasts and music

Spotify’s web app works very well, but once you go to mobile, the podcast tab currently is unwieldy. Finding your podcasts is not easy either as you have to go to your library and search in there. Spotify can benefit from clearly distinguishing between podcasts and music and making podcasts easier to discover and explore.

Create charts, reviews and ratings

Spotify currently offers top charts for music, but is very limited when it comes to podcasts apart from an annual best list, trending and top podcast charts. Some possible improvements include adding top charts for every show category and top podcasts, like Apple does. Other possible features include allowing people to rate shows and leave reviews.

Offer personalized playlists

Spotify made discovering personalized music easy and fun with its weekly playlists through Discover Weekly. Creating something similar with podcasts could help users find new podcasts. Often listeners find about podcast shows through friends, but having a direct, personal way to discover music would be appealing. NPR One app already offers this feature with personalized playlists based on a person’s listening habits.

Offer monetization options

Prior to its acquisition by Spotify, Anchor had announced a sponsorship feature where any podcaster could request a sponsorship. This allows a podcast creator to earn some money, while Anchor took a 30 percent fee. Podcasters usually have to partner with a larger podcast network to receive any ads or work very hard to even be noticed.

Provide private feeds

Private feeds enable individuals and companies to build and release internal podcast shows. Currently, Spotify does not offer this option. Apple lets you add podcasts via an RSS link.

Add call-in features like Anchor currently has

Similar to radio, Anchor offered users the opportunity to interact with their hosts. A podcast creator can field calls from listeners and even add people to conversations. When the call is completed, the podcast host can share transcribed video on social media.

By addressing the essential needs of podcast creators from content creation to distribution, monetization and interaction with listeners on one unified platform, Spotify can become a podcasting haven.