On iOS 18, “sherlocking” could be very expensive for third-party applications

Every year at WWDC, Apple adds new features to iOS. And, each time, they echo others existing in third-party applications. The phenomenon has a name: “herlocking”. The 2024 vintage is no exception and could result in a financial loss for these applications.

In 1998, Apple released Mac OS 8.5. One of the most highlighted new features is Sherlock, an extension for the Finder to find content more easily. Sherlock foreshadows what Spotlight will be years later in Mac OS X Tiger (10.4).

Via a system of plugins, Sherlock could also search for information on the web. This system was improved until, in 2002, Apple released version 3 in Mac OS X Jaguar (10.2). Its functions are eerily similar to third-party software, Watson. The latter, named of course in reference to Sherlock, went much further.

When version 3 arrived, Watson’s publisher – Karelia Software – accused Apple of having copied its functions without permission or compensation. Apple, for its part, simply responds that the functions added in Sherlock 3 are a natural evolution of version 2. A few years later, Dan Wood, creator of Karelia, will offer a last free version of Watson before the project is abandoned.

The phenomenon has left a name for posterity: Sherlocking. It refers to the process by which the integration of new functions into an Apple system leads to the closure of other companies. The concept can be generalized to all operating systems. It raises the question of the evolution of platforms and what users expect from them. It also raises other, more murky questions. For example, do Apple engineers go in the “natural” direction of evolving functions, or do they draw their ideas from the most used applications?

iOS 18: repeat!

Several new features of iOS 18 could have a direct impact on highly successful third-party applications. This is what emerges from a study published by AppFigures and relayed by TechCrunch. Sherlocking the 2024 vintage could remove nearly $400 million in revenue from the applications concerned. These represent 58 million downloads over the past year, again according to AppFigures.

For example, we mentioned it in our articles: the integration of a dedicated password manager. Good news for users who already stored their data in Keychain, since it is – in broad terms – a much more practical interface for the latter. For specialized products like 1Password, BitWarden, Dashlane or LastPass, the news is not so excellent. On iOS, this market represented $20.3 million over the past year.

Having gone relatively unnoticed in Europe, a function dedicated to trails has appeared in Maps. It will initially only concern the national parks of the United States. Among its capabilities, the possibility of downloading the corresponding maps in advance for use offline. According to AppFigures, applications dedicated to this activity generate a turnover of 307 million dollars. The star of the field is called AllTrails and was named “App of the Year” by Apple last year. Use of AllTrails exploded after the first two waves of Covid-19, with the company raising $150 million at the end of 2021. Earlier that year, the app crossed the million mark in paying subscribers.

The list continues

We can also cite grammar assistance applications, led by Grammarly, whose market generated $35.7 million over the last 12 months. Here too, the enrichment of input in iOS 18, boosted by language models, can change the situation. Just like the Apple Intelligence functions allowing you to reformulate text. Even for math help apps. During the presentation of iPadOS 18, the demonstration of Math Notes caused a sensation in its supposed interactivity and ease of use.

And what about Genmojis? The custom emoji creation market alone is worth $7 million. iOS 18 will allow precisely this creation, based on Apple Intelligence again.

We can even go beyond the figures given by AppFigures and cite other, more targeted areas. This is the case for voice transcription, which is one of the new capabilities of Notes. In the application, you can add a voice recording, with Notes taking care of creating a transcription, or even a summary. Applications like Otter or VoiceNotes could be at risk.

Let’s stay in voice with phone calls, since iOS 18 will offer – “Finally! » some will shout – the recording and the transcription. Applications like Voice Recorder from Rev or TapeACall are likely to disappear. Especially since on this point, the situation has never been ideal on iPhone: third-party applications actually go through Dictaphone and do not notify the interlocutor. Apple assured that correspondents would always be notified when a recording started. The combination of “automatic recording + transcription + warning” should quickly bury existing applications.

Natural evolution or deliberate nuisance?

The question has been debated for a long time and is raised every year. For an operating system, integrating requested or popular functions can make sense. We also know the dangers: no one has forgotten the emblematic case of Internet Explorer. For a large part of the population, the immediate availability of a function allows them to go faster and avoid embarking on hazardous searches.

However, today, who would imagine a general public operating system without a web browser? In many cases, it is the real gateway to content and services. Google has even made it a specialty with Chrome OS. Same thing on a smartphone: who is surprised to find a flashlight function on a device today? However, this was a function that initially appeared in third-party applications.

If we take the worst-case scenario – deliberate action – war is never declared head-on. Apple’s integrated services always perform a little worse than dedicated applications. This is the case for example with the password manager presented this year. The accumulation of his functions is far from equaling those of the big names in the field. We can also cite Journal, very far from offering the functional richness of a Day One.

However, Apple takes care to offer at least the minimum base. With its customary care taken in integration, some users may ask themselves the fateful question: “why bother?” “. Especially since the function will be found on all Apple devices, with the usual synchronization. And if it proves sufficient for use, it will have the advantage of not requiring a subscription.

Doors close, others open

This year, a good part of the new features presented by Cupertino were linked to Apple Intelligence. As we have indicated, these contributions will be particularly limited at first. They will only arrive in preview in the fall, in English only and for the United States only. They will then be deployed in other markets (including France?) during 2025, without further details. There is therefore still time, especially as these functions still have to prove themselves.

Several factors also limit the erosion of “Sherlocké” applications. First, people who are used to a service – and with which they are satisfied – often have little interest in changing it. Then, and above all, applications can bounce back and increase their efforts on additional functions

Additionally, in the case of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, opportunities will also arise. The new Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, should be much more context sensitive, for example. During its presentation, Apple highlighted APIs for third-party developers, allowing them to report functions and content to Siri. The latter will then be able to make the link with the user’s requests. That, at least, is how Apple presented it.

This addition does not represent a market in itself. But the AppFigures report mentions the adaptability of third-party publishers as a success factor, without guarantees of course.

Note that even though the AppFigures statistics in this case focus on Apple and iOS 18 announcements, the situation is the same for Android. Apple’s mobile system is continually enriched and each year is entitled to the presentation of new functions, even if the new vintage in approach is very calm.

Finally, let us point out that the arrival of the DMA in March could change the situation. Third-party publishers could accuse Apple of knowingly integrating popular features using statistics from the App Store. In the same way that Amazon was accused in 2020 of using valuable data from its store to launch its own products.