The article is not about the growing share of obsolete apps in the App Store (as I thought).
It's about the coming of age of the iOS app market - ie: more contenders, more competition, lower exposure. And the lack of perceived value of ipad development (says the author).<p>I understand this as: people are leaving our craftsman market in city center to stop by the big retailers in suburbia and are happy with it. And the craftsmen can't make their shops attractive enough vs big retailers.<p>I find Marco is pessimistic here (ad hom: as often).<p>1/ even matured and commoditized, the App Store is the largest money transfer to software vendors _ever_ , with a favorable cut going to indies/small makers. Even if less affluent, the small city center is still getting tons of attention.<p>2/ still on the craftsman metaphor: city centers are actually thriving again _along_ big suburbia retail thanks to a very intimate, qualitative experience. There's an exploding market fed by a better information flow. So yes, x% buyers are currently buying from an App Store "top list" - what about all other sources of traffic towards an app? Pretty sure you've lost if you bet on a top list from the start (just like buying a sign off an highway for an artisan). There are other leverages as well.<p>And 3/ from a consumer perspective, software is so different than devs imagine. In my mind, real people see 3 very different types of app:
- give me fun (news, games, many social apps)
- improve me and help me (smart home, smart features, assistants, productivity, work etc)
- talk to people (many social apps)<p>The "fun" and "talk" apps are totally commoditized. Freemium at best. Yes, that's were the attention is, so what?<p>The "improve" market is just starting. It's harder to crack because people want a perfect experience with it- it's intimate. That's why I see it as a perfect opportunity for indie app makers.<p>Actually that's why I hope to launch an app studio next year to make it easier for EU devs to build and integrate their apps.<p>Side note, hopefully Apple also removes soon enough the thousands of apps left unattended for >3y. I don't thing Apple needs to hold that much to the total app figures by now, can remove 50% of the old crust.