Earlier today,reporting emerged of Apple and WeChat owner Tencent coming to an agreement that will earn Apple a 15% commission on revenue from mini apps.

Now, it seems that this is actually tied to anewly announced Mini Apps Partner Program wherein Apple offers that reduced 15% commission to all developers.

Tencent, like all developers, will first need to apply to take part in the program.

Here’s how it all works.

Apple is rolling out a round of enhancements that will make it easier for developers to submit, manage, and market their apps on the App Store. Here’s what’s new.

Apple promotes many apps through the App Store, which has its own editorial board to choose the best apps and highlight them for users. However, there wasn’t much transparency about how Apple chooses these apps, but that’s changing now as developers finally can apply to be featured on the App Store.

Ahead of therelease of iOS 18.1 to the public next week, Apple todayreleased a major update to TestFlight. The new version comes with a new design and new features thatwere teased at WWDC 2024 in June. Read on as we detail everything that’s new with the TestFlight update.

• Developers
• Xcode

‘Skip’ is a new tool to bring iOS apps to Android

Michael BurkhardtAug 17 2024 - 2:54 pm PT

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One big hurdle with app development is that generally speaking, you have to build separate apps for both iOS and Android. There are cross platform frameworks such as React Native, however that generally results in a subpar experience on both platforms. Skip aims to solve that by allowing existing iOS app developers to create a native Android app with minimal effort.

• Developers

Apple Developer Academy graduates nearly 200 students in its third year running

Ryan ChristoffelJul 1 2024 - 10:35 am PT

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Apple’sRacial Equity and Justice Initiative encompasses a variety of programs and work, but one beneficiary of its funding is the Apple Developer Academy, which just celebrated its third graduating class.

The in-app subscription market continues to grow, according to a new report, despite increasing consumer fatigue with the trend to turn everything into a recurring payment. Surprisingly, the most common subscription model is reportedly now a weekly one.

The switch from buying apps outright to paying for them on a subscription basis has been one of the biggest trends over the past 5-10 years – and one of the most controversial …

WithWWDC fast approaching,Apple has highlighted some of the resources and support options available todevelopers.

These includethe YouTube channel firstannounced back in March, andthe Pathways resource launched last month …

Today less than two weeks out from the June 10start of WWDC, Apple hasdetailed what developers and other observers can expect out of its annual conference this year, which is expected to bring a host of news centered around AI.

Apple’s developer site haslong been a massive hub of resources for prospective app developers, but previously there was never a clear path toward getting started.

Today the companylaunched Pathways, a collection of videos, documentation, and other resources that will walk you step by step through the journey of developing your first app.

• Developers
• Figma

Apple vastly expands Figma support with new set of design templates

Ryan ChristoffelMay 2 2024 - 11:38 am PT

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Apple today has added nine new design templates toits collection of Figma resources, significantly increasing the number of resources available for Figma users.

Previously the available resources focused solely on key operating systems like iOS and iPadOS, visionOS, and macOS. Now, nine new cross-platform feature templates are available.

A UK court has ruled thata near billion dollar developer lawsuit againstApple will be allowed to proceed, after the iPhone maker attempted to get it dismissed.

The £785M ($979M)antitrust lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 1,500 British developers, and alleges that Apple’s monopolistic control of the market for iPhone apps allowed the company to charge ‘abusive’ levels of commission on app sales …

As WWDC 2024 approaches, Apple this week launched a new webpage with tutorials for developers learning the first steps on how to develop using Xcode, Swift, and Swift UI. Named “Develop in Swift Tutorials,” the webpage is now live with guides showing new developers how to install Xcode and start their first Swift project.

Asreported on Tuesday, Apple today notified the winners of the 2024 Swift Student Challenge. For those unfamiliar, the competition encourages developers to show off their coding skills by creating playground projects. This year, some of the winners will attend an in-person WWDC 2024 event at Apple Park.

Apple last month opened applications for the2024 Swift Student Challenge. The annual competition encourages developers to show off their coding skills by creating playground projects. This year, Swift Student Challenge winners will be invited to attend theWWDC 2024 kick-off event at Apple Park.

Apple hasofficially announced WWDC24 with the developer week kicking off on June 10. Like it’s done in recent years, the company is holding a special, invite-only in-person event to watch the keynote at Apple headquarters and more. Here’s how to apply for a spot.

If you’ve got big dreams about earning a living from creating iPhoneapps, a new report makes for some sobering reading. The median monthly revenue generated by an app after a year on theApp Store is less than $50 per month.

There is some encouraging news, though: There seems to be a tipping point if you can get an app to the point where it’s earning $1,000 per month …

Apple’sEntrepreneur Camp wasfirst launched back in 2018, focusing then on app-driven business owned or led by women. The latest edition is geared todevelopers from Indigenous backgrounds.

Apple has today highlighted three of the camp’s success stories, representing apps in the education, fitness, and mental health sectors …

Regain claritywith CleanMyPhone by MacPaw — the new AI-powered cleaning app that quickly identifies and removes blurred images, screenshots, and other clutter from your device. Download it nowwith a free trial.

Following therelease of iOS 17.4, Apple on Tuesday made new analytics data available to developers through App Store Connect. The company says the new data will help developers gain even more insight into the performance of their apps available on the App Store, which will also help them improve their business model.

Apple’s “malicious compliance” withEurope’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is burning bridges with the very people the company needs to makeVision Pro a success, argues a new editorial.

The piece suggests that Vision Pro’s current market is so small that developers can afford to ignore it – or evenensure their iPad apps can’t run on it – which is something they are more likely to do if they are angered by Apple’s treatment of them …

Apple on Thursday announced a series of changes coming to iOS in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Market Act antitrust legislation, which forces the company to let developers distribute their apps outside the App Store. In addition, Apple announced that developers will now be able to submit “interoperability requests” for iOS apps.

Vision Pro is arriving soon and one of the key selling points is a new class of immersive experiences. Going behind the scenes with an iOS classic game that’s making the jump to spatial computing, Halfbrick Studios has shared why “Super Fruit Ninja” is “truly bananas” offering the “most immersive” Fruit Ninja to date.

We’re nearly within a two-month window of when Apple is expected to launch its Vision Pro headset. Amid the run-up, Apple is sending out reminders to developers to “Get ready” with a list of tips for finishing up Vision Pro apps.

Apple hasannounced a significant expansion of the resources available to developers. “Meet with Apple Experts” is described as “a new global resource for the Apple developer community.” Developers can access sessions, labs, one-on-one consultations, and more through this program.