iOS 18 Could ‘Sherlock’ $400 Million in App Revenue

Apple’s practice of using ideas from its third-party developer community to create latest iOS and Mac features and apps comes at a high price, a brand new report suggests. You can download the iOS 18 public beta now ahead of its fall launch to see first-hand the changes Apple is making that might impact apps that currently have an estimated $393 million in revenue and have been downloaded about 58 million times over the past yr, in accordance with an evaluation by app analytics firm application figures.

Every June at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the iPhone maker teases upcoming releases of its software and operating systems, which frequently include features previously available only through third-party apps. The practice is now so common that it’s even been given a reputation: “sherlocking”—a nod to the Nineties Mac search engine that borrowed features from a third-party app generally known as Watson. Now, when Apple introduces a brand new feature that was previously the domain of a third-party app, it’s said to have “sherlocked” the app.

Previously, app sherlocking made some sense. After all, did the iPhone flashlight really should be a third-party offering, or wouldn’t it be higher if it was a built-in feature? Plus, Apple was capable of launch features that made its software more tailored to consumer needs and desires by what was popular with the third-party developer community.

Of course, this practice also raises questions on whether Apple is using proprietary data to make decisions about what to construct next, and whether the apps it competes with are being given a level playing field. For example, before Apple launched its own parental controls system, it shut down many third-party apps that had built businesses in that space, saying their solutions now violated its rules and policies. The apps weren’t given access to the developer API to administer Apple’s built-in parental controls for years, which prompted an antitrust investigation.

In recent years, Apple has been “sherlocking” third parties with features like Continuity Camera, medication tracking, sleep tracking, and mood tracking, in addition to apps like Freeform and Journal. This yr, the corporate has turned its attention to password managers, call recording and transcription apps, apps for creating custom emojis, AI-powered writing tools and math aids, tracking apps, and more.

By analyzing third-party apps that generated greater than 1,000 downloads in a yr, Appfigures discovered several genres which are in Apple’s crosshairs in 2024.

In terms of worldwide gross revenue, these categories generated significant revenue over the past 12 months, with the trail app category earning essentially the most at $307 million annually, led by market leader and Apple 2023 “App of the Year” AllTrails. Grammar apps like Grammarly and others also generated $35.7 million, while math apps and password managers earned $23.4 million and $20.3 million, respectively. Custom emoji apps also generated $7 million.

Of those, trail apps accounted for the overwhelming majority of “potentially sherlocked” revenue, at 78%, in accordance with Appfigures, in addition to 40% of sherlocked app downloads. In May 2024, they accounted for an estimated $28.8 million in gross consumer spending and a pair of.5 million downloads, giving some idea of ​​the size.

Many of those app categories grew rapidly, with math problem-solving apps seeing revenue growth of 43% year-over-year, followed by grammar help apps (+40%), password managers (+38%), and tracking apps (+28%). However, emoji creator apps saw declines of -17% year-over-year.

In terms of downloads, grammar apps saw 9.4 million installs in the last 12 months, followed by emoji creators (10.6 million), math problem solvers (9.5 million), and password managers (457,000 installs).

While these apps definitely have dedicated user bases that won’t immediately determine to modify to a first-party offering, Apple’s ability to supply similar built-in functionality might be detrimental to their potential growth. Average users could also be satisfied with Apple’s “good enough” solutions and never hunt down alternatives.

But apps that consistently roll out latest features and enhancements beyond what Apple has introduced, while also exploring latest ways to achieve users, akin to through Apple’s improved Siri app, can have a greater probability than others.