Apple’s practice of using ideas from its third-party developer community to turn into new features and apps for iOS and Mac comes at a hefty price, a new report suggests. With the release of iOS 18 later this fall, Apple’s changes could affect apps that today have roughly $393 million in revenue and have been downloaded roughly 58 million times in the past year, according to an analysis by app intelligence firm Appfigures.
Every June at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the iPhone maker talks about upcoming versions of its software and operating systems, which often include features previously only available through third-party apps. The practice is so common now that it’s even been given a name: “sherlocking,” a reference to a 1990s search app for the Mac that borrowed features from a third-party app known as Watson. Now, when Apple launches a new feature that was before the third-party app domain, it is said to have “locked” the app.
In earlier years, Sherlocking apps made some sense. After all, did the iPhone’s flashlight really need to be a third-party offering, or would it be better off as a built-in feature? Plus, Apple was able to release features that made its software better tailored to the wants and needs of users by looking at what was popular among the third-party developer community.
Of course, this practice also raises the question of whether Apple is using its own data to make decisions about what to build next, and whether the apps it competes with are being offered a level playing field. For example, before Apple launched its own parental control system, it shut down many third-party apps that had built businesses in this space, saying their solutions were now inconsistent with its rules and policies. Apps were not offered access to a developer API to manage Apple’s built-in parental controls for years, prompting an antitrust investigation.
In recent years, Apple has locked in third parties with the release of features like Continuity Camera, medication tracking, sleep tracking, and mood tracking, as well as apps like Freeform and Journal. This year, it turned its attention to password managers, call recording and transcription apps, custom emoji creators, AI writing tools and math assistants, trail apps, and more.
In an analysis of third-party apps that generate more than 1,000 downloads a year, Appfigures found several genres that 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 apps category making the most at $307 million per year, led by market leader and 2023 Apple App of the Year . AllTrails. Grammar help apps like Grammarly and others also generated $35.7 million, while math helpers and password managers earned $23.4 million and $20.3 million, respectively. Custom emoji creation apps also generated $7 million.
Of those, tracking apps accounted for the vast majority of “potentially blocked” revenue, or 78%, Appfigures noted, as well as 40% of blocked app downloads. In May 2024, they accounted for approximately $28.8 million in gross user spend and 2.5 million downloads, to give you an idea of the scale.
Many of these app categories grew rapidly, with math solvers seeing revenue growth of 43% year-on-year, followed by grammar assistants (+40%), password managers (+38%) and tracking apps (+28 %). However, emoji creation apps saw a -17% year-over-year decline.
In terms of downloads, grammar helpers scored 9.4 million installs in the last 12 months, followed by emoticon creators (10.6 million), math solving apps (9.5 million) and password managers (457 thousand installations).
While these apps certainly have dedicated user bases that may not immediately choose to switch to a first-party offering, Apple’s ability to offer such built-in functionality could be detrimental to their potential growth. Casual users may be satisfied with Apple’s “good enough” solutions and will not look for alternatives.
However, apps that continue to develop new features and add improvements beyond what Apple includes, while taking advantage of other new ways to reach users, such as through Apple’s improved Siri, may have a better chance than others .
