On the one hand, we began to lose confidence in iOS as a platform: customers are not ready to invest in development. There are risks that the application will have to be thrown out after development. But so far we have not had such precedents
On the other hand, Apple as a company does not seem to have blocked anyone. It follows the instructions of the regulators, and does not make decisions on its own. That is, how Apple’s business will continue to look for opportunities to profit in a market of any complexity.
It’s hard to believe in a total lockdown. So far, only the ability to pay for purchases using Apple Pay has been blocked. But even if something happens, most users use three to five services most of the time, and developers will find a way to get around this block.
For developers, in general, nothing has changed yet. The demand for development in Live Typing has not fallen, despite the recession in the economy.
Ilya Evseev: I did not notice significant changes. All the necessary tools, libraries and frameworks are available, most companies have no restrictions on working with the Appstore. I don’t think this will change.
Will the ban on the shipment of Apple equipment affect iOS development?
Roman Busygin: There is a demand for Apple technology, and this is an important driver of iOS development.
Denis Vizigin: The market began to change even before the ban on shipments. And they are unlikely to seriously change the situation, because parallel imports have started working. Major retailers have begun selling remanufactured items to help balance supply and demand.
Ilya Evseev: The popularity of the iOS system may decrease due to problems with supplies. But if we look at the mobile device market, then Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi have similarly imposed supply restrictions. As far as I know, now they are talking about the resumption of turnover.
You can still buy iPhones and other smartphones in stores. Parallel import programs hint that the problem is not as obvious as it is reported in the media.
And yet: what is the future of iOS development?
Roman Busygin: It is difficult to answer this question, because it is impossible to predict the future. However, you should not panic either: panic can lead to insufficiently deliberate actions.
there are still a large number of iPhones, but the growth of new users probably won’t be as phenomenal. There are still companies developing applications for the market, so iOS development is fine.
There is a back-up plan in case iOS development is canceled, and good developers will not be left without work: there is always the opportunity to retrain in development for another platform.
Denis Vizigin: I’m not sure that Apple will change part of their business to work. It seems to me that is too small a market for Apple, so the company can leave. However, this is the task of game theory.
I am sure that, firstly, in other countries there are a lot of low-quality applications made on iOS, and secondly, there are many good speaking developers. These developers are teaching in plain language, and this should be used.
Ilya Evseev: iOS development has a bright future, because in the world people are more actively using Apple devices, learning to make payments on their phones and actively abandoning the web. If we consider special cases, then my company is already working in a large number of countries, that is, there are always enough tasks for developers.
Also, every developer needs to think about himself. For example, I began to actively study English in order to be more confident on my feet in this unstable time.
