“The keynote event at the annual Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is usually about apps. This year, however, things were a bit different,” Bob O’Donnell writes for Tech.pinions. “Oh sure, Apple touted 2 million apps in the iOS app store, over 6,000 available for tvOS, and highlighted the work of a few small developers, but the key takeaway from this year’s event was all about services: Siri, Messages, Maps, and Music.”
“For those who closely watch Apple, this probably isn’t too surprising as the company has been receiving pressure to focus more on services in light of its hardware declines, and it has been more vocal about its efforts to expand services,” O’Donnell writes. “What became very interesting to me as I watched the keynote and then thought about all the new capabilities the company introduced, however, is that, in many ways, Apple is subsuming the capabilities of standalone apps into its services.”
“In essence, the new app model in this services-focused approach is a ‘service extension,’ which strikes me as being much more similar to the ‘skills’ you can add to an Amazon Echo than a traditional app,” O’Donnell writes. “The problem is that this model almost completely cuts out the importance, and end user awareness, that app developers have. Does anyone think of the ‘skills’ they add to an Echo in the same way they do an app? Oh yeah, and what about monetization for that service extension developer?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Service extension developers monetize the service/product they offer, not the software. The software extenstion is simply a conduit to their service/product. See: Uber, Fitbit, Dominos, etc. on the Amazon Echo and in Apple’s Messages and Maps.
I never use Siri on iOS..never..
but
Played around with Siri on the Mac (developer preview) last night…and it made me happy. Very slick! Spotlight is so good I stopped organizing files a long time ago..this will make me more of a file slob for sure..especially since I can pin results in Notification Center.
Why don’t you use Siri? I have problem with it because the cell coverage in my neighborhood is spotty, so Siri is undependable. But where I have wi-fi or a good cell signal I find Sire very useful.
Just don’t need it. I can type fast, and my “workflow” on the phone doesn’t warrant it. On the Mac, however, it is incredibly useful. Now..when Siri has better “filesystem”/3rd party integration on the phone (iOS 10), I may find a use for it on the phone.
I’m glad that Apple is finally improving Maps, but I’m still disappointed because I would like the app to provide lane guidance, tell me my speed, and provide bicycling directions. Meanwhile, I’m continuing to use Google Maps.