Spotlight
While WWDC 2022 was relatively non-disruptive for mobile growth, there's still plenty of news to cover.
If you want a full run-down with commentary, including everything we know about SKAdNetwork 4.0 and Apple's newly re-emphasized App Tracking Transparency guidance, I have two options for you:
- Watch this webinar our team at Branch hosted on Friday. It's a recap of everything you need to know, designed for quick consumption.
- Tune in for the next Mobile Dev Memo podcast episode, which will be out on Monday (watch for it in the Spotify or Apple Podcasts feeds). Eric Seufert and I went waaaay into the weeds on how everything works, and what it likely means for the future of the ecosystem.
If you prefer to get your updates directly from the source, here are the two most relevant tech sessions from WWDC:
- What's new with SKAdNetwork. All the new stuff in SKAdNetwork 4.0. While the official tech documentation has not yet been published, there's also a written summary from Apple of the new functionality here.
- Explore App Tracking Transparency. Apple's re-statement of the ATT policy, their opinion on 'separate-but-equal' attribution systems (not OK), and fingerprinting ('never allowed').
WWDC Day 3: SKAdNetwork v4.0 details are here!
For a written technical breakdown of SKAdNetwork 4.0, the best I've seen so far is from the team at Singular. It covers all the main new pieces:
- Hierarchical Campaign (Source) IDs
- Hierarchical Conversion Values
- Coarse Grained Conversion Values
- Multiple Conversions (Postbacks)
- Support for Decreasing Conversion Values
- Mobile Web to App Support
- SKAdNetwork Testability Updates
My top-level takeaway is that SKAdNetwork 4.0 brings more data signal, in more situations, while also reducing the complexity of the system (previous versions of SKAN were somewhat over-engineered).
It's still not perfect, and there is plenty left for SKAN 5.0, but this is a big step forward.
"After poking around SKAdNetwork 4.0, I’m ready to call it on ATT and SKAdNetwork. Collectively they are a trillion dollar blunder by Apple executives…"
SKAdNetwork 4.0 is a major improvement, and should finally make SKAN a lot less painful for most apps.
…but the sad part is that all of this COULD have been version 1.0, if Apple had just talked to a few people before getting started.
This is a somewhat provocative Twitter thread, and worth reading.
Apple to Ad Tech: "Fingerprinting is Never Allowed"
Apple's tech session on ATT re-emphasizes the letter of the law on fingerprinting. It mostly uses the same words that have been out there for the last two years, but I agree with this article: there are some additional nuances this time.
- 'Tracking' is not just about IDFA. ATT applies to all forms of advertising tracking, and it's not just IDFA gating (IDFA is only mentioned once in the whole session). This was always clear in the policy, but the way Apple describes it this year seems to have subtly shifted.
- No separate-but-equal systems to SKAN. Apple specifically rules out workarounds based on processing user-level data but only outputting aggregated reports. In other words, you can't create 'separate-but-equal' systems to SKAN that work without user opt-in.
- Fingerprinting is never OK. Fingerprinting is addressed head-on: Apple says it's never allowed. While there are no explicit statements about upcoming enforcement plans, it's not hard to see this as a final warning.
Ultimately, while this further elimination of ambiguity is certainly welcome, I fear it still comes without sufficient specificity to force behavior change unless Apple also starts setting enforcement precedent.
Apple Just Wrecked 15+ Startups In Less Than 1 Hour
According to Mark Twain, there is no such thing as a new idea. That applies to the iOS/macOS ecosystem too.
Apple has created flexible, accessible platforms on which developers are able to build pretty much anything they can imagine (yes, I recognize the question of whether those things can survive as sustainable businesses is a different issue). This means it's basically inevitable that when Apple themselves wants to build something new, someone else will have already given it a try.
The reality of 'getting Sherlocked' is almost as old as WWDC itself, and this year is no different. It is often devastating to the developer in question, but not always — for an example of a classy response, check out this tweet from the founder of Camo, a third-party app that makes it possible to use your iPhone as a webcam through your computer…pretty much exactly what Apple introduced this week with Continuity Camera.
WWDC 2022: 10 main updates that can influence your app’s success
Finally, to wrap up the WWDC recap section, here's a nice write-up of some other interesting iOS 16 updates that could be interesting for mobile growth.
Interesting Reads
WWDC 2022, A Tangible Demonstration of Care
What is it like to attend WWDC in person? By all accounts (including this one), it's an amazing, awe-inspiring experience.
If you're reading this newsletter, you may be used to thinking of Apple as a vaguely antagonistic elephant in a world full of mice. With things like the ongoing controversy about App Store commission rates and all the disruption caused by the IDFA Apocalypse over the last two years, a glowing endorsement like this one might seem like cognitive dissonance.
I don't think these are actually at odds. I believe Apple genuinely does care about indie developers. The small, independent dev teams building niche apps that might even be uniquely possible only on iOS, ideally monetizing via in-app purchases or subscriptions. They're the ones who make sense to Apple, who fit into Apple's worldview and use the iOS ecosystem the way Apple wants it to be used (the article above about 'getting Sherlocked' notwithstanding), and who often feel something like Apple's 30% commission rate is a pretty good deal.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the line — as companies get larger and their iOS apps become a part of the end user relationship instead of the entire thing — that care starts to gets smothered by ideology and other business considerations.
Industry Buzz
Apple’s kind of a bank now
The biggest Sherlocking of WWDC this year is certainly this one: Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space.
Apple has a dizzying array of financial products now (Apple Pay, Apple Cash, Apple Wallet, Apple Pay Later, Apple Card… it's starting to look like the Mac product line before Steve Jobs rejoined the company), so this further diversification was probably inevitable.
Also, if you're wondering how a BNPL offering fits into Apple's a position of products 'designed to support your financial health', then I recommend this podcast from Planet Money. TL;DR: it is complicated space.
AppsFlyer Releases Its Data Clean Room
If this seems like déjà vu, you're not wrong: AppsFlyer's data clean room has been in beta for months already.
More curious to me was the timing of this launch: AppsFlyer announced it live on stage at MAU (Mobile Apps Unlocked) on Tuesday morning. That seems like an extremely gutsy move, considering this was WWDC week and no one could have known what Apple might do the day before.
I'll be interested to see how this plays out, because it's still far from clear that data clean rooms will be a sustainable solution in a post-ATT, post-GDPR landscape. As this explainer from Morning Brew put it last fall:
“A clean room is not a washing machine, you cannot throw your data in there, throw a tide pod in, and think that it’s okay to use. I would say to people: Be very cautious about being told that a clean room is going to solve all your problems.”
New iOS 16 Developer Mode may be preview of third-party app store toggle
Is Apple laying the groundwork for third-part app stores? Who knows, but this isn't entirely new or without precedent — a very similar mechanic already existed for apps distributed outside of the store via the Enterprise Program.
Given all the feet-dragging Apple has done with other changes (even those mandated by law), I have trouble imaging them giving even an inch on this voluntarily. I think it's much more likely that the new Developer mode is a positioning play, to proactively introduce additional friction into the non-App Store install process. That gives them something additional to use as a lever later if they must.
Side note: the comments at the bottom of this article are amazing. If you want a peek inside the echo chamber of what happens when consumers fall hook, line, and sinker for some of the more extreme privacy sensationalism floating around, give these a read.
Tips & Techniques
A Practical Guide to Apple Search Ads
Deep insights from one of the leading Apple Search Ads practitioners. Even if you run ASA campaigns regularly, I guarantee there are tips in here you didn't even know you didn't know.
I only care about the helpful notifications, not the promotional ones
Reminder: be thoughtful about your push notification strategy, especially mixing marketing and transactional streams. Sometimes there's a good reason to do this, but users will often take the nuclear option if they can't find a way to control it.
UX
Why airlines have a 91% churn
Have you ever tried booking a flight on a mobile website? Most likely not, probably because you've instinctively reached the same conclusion as this article: it is…not particularly easy.
The observations here are obviously and objectively valid, which means there are two important takeaways:
- This is proof of why mobile apps are better than mobile web.
- This is also why it's so important to make sure end users know #1.
What can you do about this? Make sure users have an easy way to 'upgrade' their experience.
Data
App marketing benchmarks for iOS & Android
Benchmarks like these are hard to generate and get right. Normalization and data QA is a pain, every app is doing something unique, and there are way more edge cases than you ever imagine going in.
That's almost certainly why not every metric is available for every breakdown in this report, but it's still very well done and cleanly presented. Definitely worth a look!
The Encore
Starstruck seeing our App Clip featured at #WWDC22!
I used this exact restaurant payment App Clip last night, and yes: it really is magical.
Podcast
VP of Growth at Blue Apron: Kar Paramasivam
Leading Growth in the Meal Subscription Business
Blue Apron is a direct-to-consumer, chef-designed meal kit company. Kar shares some successful campaigns and approaches his team adopted to leverage Blue Apron's app and increase user retention and engagement.
Events
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WWDC 2022 is over, and despite the hyperbolic 'data auction' ad campaign Apple has been running basically everywhere for the last month, only one privacy-related topic even made this year's keynote: a minor (though excellent and much-needed) new permissions audit feature called Safety Check.
Here's the full scorecard:
What does this mean? Well, we'll get into the details below, but I'm quite certain nobody here looks forward to these annual, WWDC-induced bouts of existential crisis. So a relatively quiet week means mixed emotions:
At the same time, don't assume this is the end of the story, or any sort of tacit agreement to preserve the status quo. Apple may be taking a break from privacy-related high drama this year, but that certainly doesn't mean they're walking away from the topic.
This moment is more like the calm in the eye of the hurricane. It's the time to double down on investing for the future of your mobile growth strategy…not a signal to turn around and start swimming against the tide.
PS: this issue of the newsletter is on the longer side. If your email client clips the end, just click here to read on the web!
Alex Bauer