Vidit Bhargave, developer of Look Up, writing about what is expected of a modern app:

Not only is the iPhone app not the center of a user’s interaction on the phone. It’s increasingly becoming one of the many parts of an ecosystem where apps are expected to scale both in terms of interface and functionality starting from something as small as an Apple Watch and going all the way up to an unbounded experience like Vision Pro.

This is a fascinating post about the ways in which a good developer must think nowadays, and this is just iOS focused! You can’t just produce an app, ship it for the iPhone and think you are done — users, and OS makers, demand more from the applications they download and expect more from their paid services.

If you think about all the paces you expect to be able to interact with this piece of software you downloaded, one that in many instances you didn’t pay any for, you begin to realise how hard making a success of things can be.

As a user, I now expect to be able to use the app on my phone and tablet as a bare minimum. When in reality this expectation also includes the Apple Watch, perhaps the mac and even a VR. If I am a power user, I might also demand Shortcuts support, Siri integration and even a fancy API if the app calls for it.

There are widgets to think about, live activities and in the near future, Apple Intelligence integration. Great apps don’t just exist as a square on your Home Screen, they extend into numerous areas and through different interaction methods. We expect them to be available everywhere we are, and still moan because the developer wants to make an income from their work. Worth bearing in mind next time an app you love asks you for a contribution.