Apple WWDC 2025: Developers Face Harsh Reality Amid Praises and AI Delays

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Apple WWDC 2025: Developers Face Harsh Reality Amid Praises and AI Delays

At Apple WWDC 2025, the company concluded its main keynote with a performance literally singing praises to its app developers. A singer turned positive App Store reviews into a song, highlighting the perceived success and appreciation for the developer community. While this gesture aimed to celebrate, many observers and developers felt it sidestepped the significant challenges and controversies that have impacted the relationship between Apple and its developers in recent years.

What Was Missing for Apple Developers at WWDC 2025?

Despite the celebratory tone, the keynote largely omitted discussions around the turbulent landscape Apple Developers have navigated. This includes ongoing regulatory pressure, lawsuits challenging the App Store’s dominance, and a general feeling among some developers that Apple prioritizes its own revenue streams over their business health. Key areas where developers sought clarity or concessions were notably absent from the main stage:

• App Store Commission Debate: There was silence regarding potential changes or reductions to the controversial App Store commission rates, which remain a major point of contention globally.
• Alternative Payment Systems: Following legal rulings, particularly in the U.S., mandating the allowance of external payment links, Apple did not elaborate on how this new reality would be implemented or its impact on the developer ecosystem during the main keynote.
• Addressing Fraud and Discovery: While Apple mentioned anti-fraud efforts pre-WWDC, the keynote didn’t highlight improvements to payment processing or methods for developers to improve app discovery without relying heavily on paid App Store Search ads, a system that seems increasingly pushed by changes like defaulting the App Store to the Search page in iOS 26 beta.

The Ongoing App Store Battles

The backdrop to Apple WWDC 2025 is a series of intensifying App Store Battles around the world. Governments and regulatory bodies are scrutinizing Apple’s control over app distribution and payments, alleging monopolistic practices. Developers, particularly smaller ones and large entities like Epic Games, have been vocal about the challenges posed by Apple’s strict rules and commission structure. The lack of substantial discussion on these critical issues during a developer-focused event left many feeling that Apple isn’t fully acknowledging the pressure points affecting their businesses daily.

Apple AI Efforts: Delays and Comparisons

A major point of anticipation for Apple Developers was the advancement in Apple AI capabilities. However, the keynote confirmed delays for key features, such as the more personalized Siri previously teased. Apple’s AI announcements felt scattered and, in some instances, appeared to lag behind competitors like Google. For example:

• AI-powered translation features were shown, but similar capabilities already exist elsewhere.
• A Visual Intelligence feature demonstrated leveraging Google’s app for image search results, highlighting a reliance on third-party services for core AI functions.
• While integrations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT were announced for tools like Image Playground and Xcode, broader partnerships (like rumored Google Gemini or Anthropic collaborations) were not mentioned.

These AI developments felt more like incremental updates or stop-gaps rather than a bold leap forward, potentially leaving developers without the cutting-edge tools needed to build next-generation AI-powered apps effectively.

Beyond the WWDC Highlights: Design and Developer Experience

Among the WWDC Highlights were design updates like ‘Liquid Glass’, inspired by Vision Pro. While visually appealing for consumers, the rationale for developers to undertake potentially significant redesigns to align with this new aesthetic was not clearly articulated. There was no hint that this design language might be a precursor to future platforms like AR glasses, leaving developers to question the long-term value proposition of adopting it. The focus seemed heavily skewed towards consumer-facing features and Apple’s own platform priorities, rather than providing developers with clear pathways for growth or addressing their operational concerns.

In essence, while Apple WWDC 2025 offered technical sessions and platforms state-of-the-union addresses later in the week that might contain more developer-specific details, the main keynote’s message felt mixed. The closing song, meant to celebrate, instead underscored the perceived disconnect between Apple’s public relations and the reality of the challenges developers face with App Store policies, AI progress, and the fundamental business relationship.

To learn more about the latest AI trends, explore our articles on key developments shaping AI Models and their future features.

This post Apple WWDC 2025: Developers Face Harsh Reality Amid Praises and AI Delays first appeared on BitcoinWorld and is written by Editorial Team