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

Berlin, at the end of April. This Tuesday, the sun shines from the sky in front of Apple’s capital center over a hip renovated hotel in Mitte. However, the heat of heart that comes from an event inside the historical building is even more noticeable. 110 developers and app managers have gathered there at the invitation of the German App Store Editor for the Developer Day. It is laughed and discussed, with a fantastic view of parts of Berlin, but almost not disputed.

A few weeks before the WWDC developer conference, this date, to which the specialist press is also invited, is an exciting mood. Sure, in terms of content, there is another way: the developers get the advantages of Apple Intelligence again, exchange ideas about monetization strategies and other important topics of their daily work. For the journalists there is a round 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 for developers – and very popular). Afterwards there is the opportunity to exchange ideas with all participants who between Schnell-Pitch (“With this app you donate Unicef ​​another meal”) and a warm reunion (“I remember when Ulysses GmbH was still called the soulm”).

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But beyond the content, this DEV Day also seems to be a kind of self-assurance: In the early years of the App Store, the audience of the global developer conference WWDC joined for joy when Steve Jobs let the billions of checks blend and pondered how much developer and Apple benefit from each other. But can Apple be sure of the approval of the developers this spring 2025? Or does it actually boil under the surface?

Lots of crunch potential

Anyone who follows the reports of the past few weeks could smell a lot of crunching potential before the global developer conference WWDC: there is the US judge, who is in sharp words Apple to finally implement her judgment. App developers should also sell their services outside the app store without extra fees and can link this to their apps. The European Commission meanwhile complains of Apple’s behavior in the competition, even assuming the US company, 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 AI Development tools from Apple?

But if you talk to the small and medium-sized developers in Berlin, you do not get the impression that Apple’s relationship with his app store developers is cloudy before the big developer conference in June. Sure, in terms of AI, you would like more – for most I have been using, it has long been in use – but these are the copilot from Microsoft and Claude code that are used. From Apple AI interfaces and tools that could come and are longed for this year, better data protection and the tools promise a deeper understanding of the special needs in the Apple world. And of course the question of the taxes on Apple is always laughing with “Of course we would like to hand in fewer percentages. Who doesn’t?” answered.

From the plate washer to the millionaire

But billions of billions of plaintiffs such as Tim Sweeney from Epic Games, who wants to dispute a extensive opening, or the loudly polter of Apple’s music streaming competitor and market leader Spotify, reports to little sympathy in the round. Alternative app marketplaces as it introduced the EU? Do only additional work, without recognizable gain. “We would have to set two first,” says one of the developers – after all, Apple takes everything off. “With one click you are in 164 countries,” says Kai Koch from Ahead. “It makes little sense to do it yourself.” For the big ones, some cut in, but certainly already. Another dev admits that it would of course be nice to have to hand in a little fewer percentages to Apple. But is it worth it?

And then he is, the crack – but not between Apple and the developers in general, but between the needs and views of the small and large development opera. The chance to successfully release an app worldwide as a one-man show or as a small start-up team has become smaller in the store in view of the many apps. But they still exist, these success stories. The bosses and founders of app developers who can fed up 50 to 100 mouths in their company were present. Medium -sized hidden champions, very thanks to App Store. Quasi from the plate washer to the millionaire: And fortunately Apple, a dishwasher is ready for this, has comprehensively indicates the new plate washers, gives tips and help – that welds together.

Apple’s love for the little developers

Most of the money for Apple’s growing service division certainly make the big ones in the App Store, which-knowing about their meaning-also appear very confident. But Apple’s heart still strikes for the little ones who give the company shine and gloria – and that, that is also part of the truth, for the company. With measures such as the Small Business Program, which gives developers less than one million US dollar sales per year, the iPhone manufacturer took the pressure out in this group when the discussion about too high taxes began. With those greats who performed as plaintiffs and loud critics, it was not wisely.

Working: Ben Schwan