iOS eco-chain parasitic millions of developers: difficult to survive facing the decision

[Apple cut into the application market will destroy the ecological environment that has just been established. In this way, application developers and developers will become Apple's touchstone and mouse. Once there are some applications in the market, Apple will intervene. What about developers and developers? ]

At the just-concluded Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced that the iOS 6 system will provide a brand-new application - Passbook, a tool that can store boarding passes, membership cards, and movie tickets. . With Passbook, iPhone and iPod Touch users can call up a bar code on the screen to check when boarding, watching a movie, or redeeming a coupon. The introduction of this service was interpreted by the industry as Apple's formal involvement in the electronic payment field.

When Scott Foster, the senior vice president of Apple responsible for the iOS business, introduced the new features of iOS 6 on the stage, not all of them showed his eyes.

iOS 6's new features have caused dissatisfaction among some companies and developers. "The crowd complained that these companies suddenly realized that they no longer existed." Wang Meng (a pseudonym) developer of the LBS Coupon Program in China said to the "First Financial Daily" that the Passbook application made him feel My company’s prospects are bleak.

Since iOS 6 introduces many new operating applications, some applications that are constantly on the iPhone may become history. Developers worry: Where does the third-party software go from under the attack of the platform?

Apple grabs developers?

At last year's WWDC site, Arment shouted a tantrum on Twitter, because he found that Apple's iOS 5, the added Reading List feature in Safari and self-developed Insta paper application is so similar.

Insta paper is a simple gadget that is used to save web pages for later reading on the App. Wired magazine once praised it as “very good”. As its developer, Arment said that last year Apple's updated Reading List and Insta paper are exactly the same. They can also bookmark web articles and synchronize with computers for future reading. This year, the app also supports offline reading.

This action was interpreted by the industry as "Apple wants to completely get rid of Insta paper," just as it did with Google Maps.

Apple interprets it as better serving consumers. Whenever the new operating system is released, Apple will eliminate some of the previously important third-party applications due to the innovation of its functions. This time, iOS 6 is no exception and involves about a thousand applications. It is reported that the number of important applications that have been eliminated this time is the most since the advent of the iOS system.

The person in charge of Beijing Waya Technology told reporters that Apple's entry into the application market will destroy the ecological environment it has just established. In this way, application developers and developers will become Apple's touchstone and mouse. Once there are some applications in the market, Apple will intervene. What about developers and developers?

“According to Passbook, it actually invaded the tourism market, and it also sold out LBS and coupons. The coupons are actually the early stage of mobile e-commerce. After that, Apple will carry mobile e-commerce with terminals. Who can compete with it?”

Shen Xuefeng and the company’s CTO Duan Xuefeng believe that Apple iOS as a representative of the closed smart platform should be said that from the beginning of its birth, its gene has laid the foundation of the current business model, that is, hardware + software, mobile phone + service model Therefore, it is not surprising that the current update of iOS 6 integrates more of its own applications. "This is what Apple is going to do."

"You can see that Apple's products and services are more about digging around the capabilities of the phone itself, such as enhanced phone features, Safari upgrades, Siri Chinese support, and maps. These are all essential features of mobile phones. It can also be called an infrastructure. At the same time, more than 200 updates have also introduced a lot of third-party applications. They do not exclude complementary products, said Duan Xuefeng.

Many iOS developers, like them, began to worry about Apple's "invasion." Some developers decided to shift their business model due to concerns.

"In our field, Apple joined the first two upgrades." Li Aiguo, developer of applications from video conversion tools to game applications, said that Apple stood at the top of the industry chain and changed nothing, but downstream. People will have a lot of influence. “APP has changed the pattern of online software. All of us are living in the cracks. There is no core technology that needs to be solved as early as possible.”

In fact, there seems to be no good solution for applications that have already been "invaded territory."

Arment wrote on his blog that "Apple's plagiarism is not necessarily a fatal threat, because the availability of iOS can make more people aware of the convenience of such applications, and virtually developed the market. Let people who are willing to pay for a better experience buy Instapaper.” But it can be seen that the OpenFeint leader, who is also optimistic, sold the business after Apple launched a similar application, Game Center. Before that, he thought that "the best time" came.

Say goodbye to Apple?

The rise of iPhone developers dates back two years.

In March 2008, Apple provided developers with an iPhone software development kit and opened the iPhone App Store in July. In just a few months, a lot of developers flocked to the platform to get the first pot of gold. Subsequently, Google, RIM and other companies also opened similar platforms.

Zhu Lianxing is China's first entrepreneur to join Apple App Store application development. In 2008, he began to develop applications on the iPhone. In 2009, an application called "Colorful Aquarium" entered the official video released by Apple. At that time, his daily income was more than 1,000 US dollars. "We rely on apples to eat." Zhu Lianxing said.

In fact, Apple’s return on third-party applications in recent years has been very rich. The App Store on iOS and Mac has become the world's most important software distribution channel. The Mac App Store claims to have exceeded Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Such as the first PC software sales channels, and iOS has already paid 3 billion US dollars to third-party developers to share.

However, with the increase of application software on the platform, the situation has changed. The past millionaire dream of the developer “I can write a program and I can be a boss” has now become somewhat distant.

Zhu Lianxing does not worry that the application he developed will be copied by Apple. Compared to this, he is more worried about how long he can live.

"The App Store's market is changing too fast and the competition is fierce." Looking back at the past, Zhu Lianxing could not help feeling. When he first started developing iPhone, there were only 1,500 applications in Apple's App Store. And now, this number is already close to 600,000. For small and medium-sized developers, it is getting harder and harder to make a single application for success. Zhu Lianxing told reporters that the game project that had been spent for half a year and was developed at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars had no return in the Apple store and was completely submerged without any sound. To this end, he chose to turn to outsourcing projects. "The risk will be smaller and at least guaranteed."

Wang Meng, the developer of the LBS Coupon program application, believes that as a small developer, he cannot enjoy the so-called fairness. “Although Apple’s software ecosystem looks very equal, the fact is not the case. Some big software companies have special accounts, You can submit questions in a timely manner, and small developers must expect the Apple program auditors to be merciful and not to influence decisions."

Due to the lack of grasp of users and combat methods of splinters, most domestic developers are still struggling. Relevant data show that at present, the domestic iPhone developer team, 70% to 80% of them are difficult to maintain their livelihood, the daily income is only a few dollars or even no income.

"But the most profitable thing is still the iOS platform. Android is relatively confusing. Windows Phone is now unstable. No matter the market or the platform's own application environment is not yet mature and stable." Wang Meng said that user needs are always there, and applications will become more and more Segmentation.

In Wang Meng's opinion, it is completely impractical to demand that "the platform does not compete with the applications above." For users, the basic, common features have an integrated, consistent, one-stop interface and experience is obviously better, so the platform will always have the urge to continuously expand functionality. For developers like him, they can only find the best way to survive on different platforms, and they can't limit their eyes to the increasingly competitive Apple system.

It's worth noting that Arment, the developer of Insta paper, never thought he would develop applications on Android. “There is no Android in my world. Most of the time, it is not within my focus. Thinking about iOS apps is full time. Work and stay competitive on iOS is a full-time job.” But in a recent interview, he began to show that Android's openness and flexibility is a double-edged sword.