Weekend good reads for Apple developers #2023/22

Okay, I get it, it's weekend before the show. But why would you drop your routine? Let's go through some great technical and one fun article.

And, as promised, fun one – refresh your Apple history knowledge with WWDC 2023: The Pregame Quiz by Jordan Morgan.

Get ready for WWDC23 – next week will be definitely packed with new stuff we'll be learning the whole summer!

Apple shares iOS 16 adoption statistics

With less than a week before new major iOS is going to be presented Apple provides iOS 16 adoption statistics.

90% of all devices introduced in the last four years use iOS 16.

81% of all devices use iOS 16.

76% of all devices introduced in the last four years use iPadOS 16.

71% of all devices use iPadOS 16.

Apple Developer

Adoption grew quite significantly since beginning of the year.

Apple Developer: App Store

Reference: Apple Shares Latest iOS 16 Usage Statistics for iPhone Ahead of WWDC

Report shows that developers generated more than a trillion dollars in App Store ecosystem

Apple publishes report on developers' success in App Store.

Some key findings:

  • Developers generated $1.1 trillion in sales.
  • Over 90% of that was paid directly to developers without Apple's commissions.
  • 29% year-over-year growth.
  • Travel, ride-sharing, grocery, food delivery apps see significant growth.

Report contains more details on 15 years of App Store history.

Apple Newsroom: Developers generated $1.1 trillion in the App Store ecosystem in 2022

References:

Apple announces tax updates for App Store

On May 31st Apple will update proceedings for several territories:

  • Ghana: Increase of the VAT rate from 12.5% to 15%.
  • Lithuania: Reduction of the VAT rate from 21% to 9% for eligible e‑books and audiobooks.
  • Moldova: Reduction of the VAT rate from 20% to 0% for eligible e‑books and periodicals.
  • Spain: Digital services tax of 3%.
Apple Developer

Also Apple will now withhold taxes for App Store sales in Brazil. This will affect developers outside Brazil.

Apple Developer: Upcoming tax changes for apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions

Swift team reminds developers on proper support for upcoming language features

With new Swift version is soon to be announced and released developers will gradually adopt new language features which could break source code compatibility. In order to simplify migration process and accommodate new features, developers could use upcoming feature flags starting with Swift 5.8.

Article in Swift Blog goes through use of feature flags with compiler and Swift Package Manager and some examples of these upcoming features.

Swift Blog: Using Upcoming Feature Flags

Apple reminds developers on important deadlines for receipt certificate changes and notarization tools

Apple notifies developers on upcoming changes in purchase receipt signing certificate. Developers who use custom receipt validation should update their software accordingly.

If your app validates App Store receipts on device, make sure your app will support the SHA-256 version of this certificate. New apps and app updates that don’t support the SHA-256 version of this certificate will no longer be accepted by the App Store starting August 14, 2023.

Apple Developer

Apple also notifies developers that they should migrate to Xcode 14 or notarytool utility by November 1, 2023. Submissions from Xcode 13 and altool utilities will be no longer accepted then.

Important dates:

  • June 20, 2023. Receipts in the sandbox environment will be signed with the SHA‑256 version of this certificate for devices running a minimum of iOS 16.6, iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, watchOS 9.6, or macOS Ventura 13.5.
  • August 14, 2023. Receipts in new apps and app updates submitted to the App Store, as well as all apps in sandbox, will be signed with the SHA‑256 intermediate certificate.
  • November 1, 2023. Notarization requests will be only accepted by Xcode 14 and newer or notarytool.

Apple Developer: