A recent survey reveals some interesting data about macOS developers. A community, predominantly male, which remains very cautious about new opportunities like visionOS and alternative markets.
Setapp Survey 2024: Trends and Challenges for Mac Developers
Setapp, a member of the MacPaw family, has achieved its 8th survey annual survey of Mac developers to understand their practices, challenges, and expectations for the year 2024. The survey explores themes such as development for visionOS, AI/ML integration, and alternatives to the Mac App Store. This year, participating developers came from 32 countries, mainly from the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.
A majority of men among macOS developers
First important statistic, the percentage of men and women in application development. In this survey, it is indicated that 86% are men, 12% women and 2% others. 51% of respondents are between 30 and 44 years old and 43% work alone while 22% have teams of 2 to 10 people.
Application category: productivity dominates
With a market share of 49%there productivity is the dominant domain in macOS app categories. It is followed by developer tools with 33%creativity 19% and task management 19% also.
An app in the productivity category is designed to help users manage their time, tasks, and projects more effectively. These applications offer tools to organize, plan and monitor daily activities, with the objective of improving personal or professional efficiency. They can include features like note-taking, task management, time tracking, team collaboration, and process automation.
Application distribution: the EU’s fight
To the delight of European authorities, only 20% of developers distribute their apps exclusively through the Mac App Store, favoring alternatives like their personal websites (74%) or third-party solutions (29%). This trend can be explained by the many challenges encountered on this channel, in particular application visibility (52%) and user acquisition (41%).
Without forgetting Apple’s famous commission, which dissuades many developers from launching on the Mac App Store. Setapp, which conducted this survey, for example offers an alternative solution with, according to them, more favorable conditions for promoting the applications of independent developers seeking visibility.
Artificial intelligence: almost one in two developers uses AI
With the arrival of Apple Intelligence and the global trend around AI, the year 2024 marks a growing interest in the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in applications.
Currently, more than 40% macOS developers are using this new technology or looking to integrate it into their applications. Whether to streamline the user experience, create chatbots, provide real-time translation or even automate tasks, artificial intelligence has become essential for a majority of them.
visionOS: a still very present hesitation
At the same time, the launch of the Apple Vision Pro is sparking debate. Although 20% of developers plan to develop for visionOS, almost 45% still hesitate. This lack of enthusiasm could be linked to the novelty of the device and the uncertainties regarding its adoption by the general public. We are talking about around 500,000 sales in 10 months, a figure which does not yet encourage developers to spend time, energy and money to fully invest in this new platform.
Loyalty to the Apple ecosystem
Next to 75% Mac developers create cross-platform solutions, but the majority remain loyal to the Apple ecosystem. The most popular frameworks for macOS development are AppKit (45%) and SwiftUI (38%)the latter being considered one of the most promising tools for the future. Our new iSoft v9 app, published at the start of the year and recoded in SwiftUI, is the perfect example.
However, compatibility with other systems like Windows (23%) and Linux (20%) is progressing, a sign of a desire to broaden the audience beyond Apple users. Without forgetting the alternative markets now accessible on certain Apple platforms in our regions.
Alternative markets and payments: cautious adoption
The opening of third-party markets on iOS, imposed by the European Union, is of interest 33% developers. The latter hope to take advantage of new revenue models and reach a wider audience. However, concerns remain about the risks associated with the circulation of malware (33%) and application piracy (26%).
Regarding payments, only 17% of developers are considering abandoning Apple’s in-app purchasing system in favor of alternative solutions, reflecting a still timid adoption of these new opportunities. Wero has his work cut out for him.
General conclusion
The Mac Developer Survey 2024 reveals an ecosystem in full transformation, where innovation and adaptation are at the heart of developers’ concerns. Faced with an increasingly diverse distribution environment and growing expectations for personalization and artificial intelligence, Mac app creators are showing a strong ability to embrace new trends while remaining anchored in the core values of their profession.
However, significant challenges remain: application visibility, adoption of emerging technologies like visionOS, and uncertainties related to alternative markets and payments. Despite this, developers express measured optimism, focusing their efforts on maintaining and evolving their products while exploring the opportunities offered by hardware and software advancements.
