There are so many questions over Apple’s announcements during the “Back to the Mac” event with regards to the Mac OS X App Store. How will it work? What will developers think? Who will use it? And so on. But there is a much bigger issue at hand: the very company that has complained about Android fragmentation is now fragmenting its own devices, developers, and consumers. Ironic? You bet.
Currently Apple has a fairly simple setup: there is an App Store for the iPad and there is an App Store for the iPhone/iPod Touch, which also happens to be compatible with the iPad. The iPhone applications will work on the iPad, but the iPad applications will not work on the iPhone.
Okay, so maybe it isn’t as simple as it could be, but we can live with it, right?
Confusion Sets In
However, with the announcement of an App Store for OS X Snow Leopard and Lion, which is expected in a few months, things become infinitely more complex. There will the aforementioned App stores, but there will also be an App Store for Mac OS X. It will supposedly come in the form as a standalone application for Mac OS X, segregated from the iTunes marketplace, it won’t work with the iPad nor iPhone/iPod Touch, and it has an incredible amount of restrictions associated with it as well.
Oh boy.
And this is where things start getting vastly confusing. Ever since the creation of iTunes, the primary way of purchasing software, music, movies, e-books, and more has been through iTunes. But this move is quite drastic — it is an effort to separate applications (i.e. the App Store) from the iTunes tore. This act alone brings many questions.
- Will iTunes still host applications for iTunes/iPad?
- Will the OS X App Store remove all references of applications from iTunes?
- Will the App Store spur on the rebuilding of iTunes?
- Will OS X applications on the App Store receive preference over traditional applications?
- Will OS X Apps be restricted in any way (other than the outlined restrictions)?
- Will consumers need to purchase a iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS X Apps for the same software?
- Will developers be able to offer an all-in-one deal so consumers can get access to applications on all of Apple’s platforms?
The questions are impossible to answer at this point, but the obvious outcome is going to be far greater complexity and understanding from consumers and developers. Either way, this is fragmentation, whether Apple will admit it or not.
Big Business
But we are only touching the surface, however. What about more complicated software from larger companies that provides industrial, creative, and professional tools for thousands of dollars? Will they operate under the same rules and pricing structures as traditional applications? Or will they receive preferential treatment from Apple? What about software that requires subscription/licensing? Or will Apple consider creating a separate App Store for them, too?
What if the OS X App Store was eventually to be divided into two separate, yet similar, platforms: one for consumers and one for businesses/professionals. The App Store for consumers would exist just as one would expect. The App Store for businesses and professionals would be a separate entity with different pricing structures and, quite possibly, rules for those developers.
This is an interesting proposition that may or may not have any inherent meaning other than to point out that Apple has the possibility to further fragment one of their most precious products: the App Store. Apple already have two versions, which, quite honestly, makes little sense to me, but so be it. But they are about to add yet another; it is on the verge of being ridiculous.
What’s next? An Apple TV App Store? Maybe an iPod Nano App Store? Perhaps we will need a Macbook Air App Store to compensate for screen size? Yeah, it’s crazy, but that is the way it feels we might be headed if Apple keeps on going with this recent trend of creating new App Stores. Of course, Apple is smarter than I’m acknowledging at this point in time, but Apple has earned this scrutiny, if not simply because of its attacks on the competition for being so heavily fragmented.
What’s Next?
If Apple doesn’t want to risk turning into an Android marketplace, they might want to figure out a way to reduce the amount of App Stores it has. There is no doubt that fragmentation is happening, and you better believe that any other competitor can now call out Apple on that fragmentation argument that they typically use against Android. It’s almost beginning to feel like the only difference between iOS and Android is that Apple has total control over them while Google does not.
But Apple could take a big step in the right direction by eventually combining the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch App Stores. I’m sure it won’t be too long before the iPad has a larger and smaller screen variation, so it makes sense for the App Store’s applications to properly scale, regardless of screen size — leave it up to the developers to adjust their interface depending on the screen size/resolution, as I know they are smart enough to figure it out.
I guess this is simply another case of the pot calling the kettle black.
3 Responses so far.
Vulpine
October 28, 2010 at 12:58 amAt the moment, you are only making assumptions based on no real data. We don't know enough about OSX Lion yet to know exactly how the Mac App Store is going to work. One possibility you might have overlooked could be that Dashboard, which currently runs 'Widgets', may become the iOS connection between the Mac and the iPhone/iPad devices to the point that Dashboard could run all of those existing apps plus Mac-specific apps that can take advantage of the greater capacities of the machine. Granted, this sacrifices the widgets we know now, but it makes many more similarly functioning apps available in their stead. Since all those Widgets are free, this makes the Dashboard another possible path of income for Apple and the developers.
James Mowery
October 28, 2010 at 1:22 am@Vulpine
"At the moment, you are only making assumptions based on no real data."
That's where you'd be wrong. I am making an assumption based on the past, which offers plenty of data. (Note: the past tends to repeat itself, too.)
The iPad and iPhone have separate App Stores. They are fragmented from a developer and consumer point of view. The Mac OS X will be no different, at least from what Steve Jobs and Apple have said.
"ne possibility you might have overlooked could be that Dashboard, which currently runs ‘Widgets’, may become the iOS connection between the Mac and the iPhone/iPad devices to the point that Dashboard could run all of those existing apps plus Mac-specific apps that can take advantage of the greater capacities of the machine."
That has nothing to do with this article, however. I'm talking about fragmentation. Even if you could run iOS applications on the desktop, there is still fragmentation from the iOS device standpoint because you won't be able to run desktop App Store apps on those other platforms.
Vulpine
October 28, 2010 at 3:58 am@James:
While I won't argue your specific points, I don't see the App Store fragmenting in the same manner as Android, but rather 'layering', where each level of device can use its own apps and any that are below it. It may be similar in overview, but not in practice.
From what I've seen and read, the problem with Android fragmentation is that no one user really knows what app will work on his device. What with so many different versions of Android currently on the market and companies like Verizon trying to control what apps are available, the Android user is in a complete fog and has to rely more on luck than anything for a given app.
The different apps stores, however, allow each user–iPhone/iPod Touch; iPad; Mac–to know what will work and what won't. There is very little guesswork involved.
However, I might also point out that despite being as well orgainized as it is, I also find the App Store very difficult to navigate when trying to find something specific. For instance, finding an app that offers real-time gas station location and pricing while you're driving down the highway that is also free; finding a database app that is easy to use and lets you label all the fields yet doesn't require you to build it from scratch and can handle hundreds or even thousands of entries either free or pay; maybe finding a game that's an arcade-type flight simulator but includes a mission-oriented play format or an RPG that plays like an MMO without needing a full keyboard to control it–so many different concepts that are effectively impossible to narrow down in a library of over 300,000 possibilities. It's worse in a way that Apple tosses up the 'top 50' lists, yet gives you such a poor means to search through the hundreds and thousands of other apps that may ride in the same category as any of those mentioned.
What I'm trying to say is that while the App Store is significantly better than anything Android is going through right now, I do agree that it still needs work to make it easier to navigate and know exactly what is what. How do you find an app that may be months old that has been smothered by newer ones when you don't even know the name of what you're looking for? The app store, at least through iTunes on the desktop, is almost impossible to use, yet offers the most comfortable place to do your research (at your desk) while the app store on the iPad offers the easiest to navigate, yet relies on your wi-fi connection and the virtual keyboard to search (unless you've linked a bluetooth keyboard).
Yes, I know I seem to be rambling, but my point is that while the app store is nowhere near as fragmented as Android, it has its own, separate problems. Layering another level of apps onto the app store doesn't make knowing what apps work where any more difficult, but the navigation of the app store itself as accessed through your desktop iTunes does. If the desktop App Store gives the Mac the ability to navigate similarly to the iPad App Store, I see a simplification rather than more fragmentation.
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