Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote address was met with mixed reactions from the developer community, who were largely ignored in favor of touting consumer benefits. The event saw singer-songwriter Allen Stone turn positive App Store reviews into song lyrics, but Apple failed to acknowledge the tumultuous past few years for its developer community.
In recent years, Apple has been fighting against regulation, lawsuits, and efforts to rein in its alleged App Store monopoly. However, it has yet to deliver on key technology advances that could modernize developers’ apps for the AI era. The company’s AI-powered Siri was delayed, and Apple only briefly acknowledged this fumble.
Apple scattered mentions of AI-related features, but these were largely similar to those already offered by Google. The company did make some integrations with OpenAI technology, such as adding ChatGPT to its Image Playground app and coding assistance in Xcode. However, no deals with other AI providers were announced.
Despite rumors that Google Gemini integration was on the way, Apple kept quiet about this development. The company also launched a standalone Games app, but focused on consumer benefits rather than what it could do for mobile developers.
One of the most significant omissions was any acknowledgement from Apple that its developer community has been struggling. Instead, the company only made subtle references to changes in the App Store ecosystem through updates to its App Review Guidelines.
Apple’s focus on delighting consumers with new features like Liquid Glass, an interface design overhaul, raised questions about why developers should make over their apps to meet these new guidelines. The company could have hinted at the fact that Liquid Glass might be a precursor to building an operating system that will extend beyond smartphones and tablets.
The event ended with Apple singing praises to its developer community through song, but this felt like a performative act of appreciation rather than a genuine reflection of how valuable developers are to the company’s success.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/10/at-wwdc-2025-apple-sang-developers-praises-amid-ai-letdowns-and-app-store-battles