Apple App Store model simply doesn't work

1. Apple Watch App Store
2. iMessage App Store
3. AppleTV App Store

All three are failures. All three were introduced over the last few years and all three failed.

Many of us predicted this. The App Store model simply doesn’t work in these settings. Apple tried to shoehorn it in and it didn’t work.

There are simple reasons why these three app stores didn’t work:

• The Apple Watch is meant for quick, simple functionality. It’s meant for quick actions (ie. timers) and quick information (ie. weather). No one wants apps on their wrist. If you’re going to launch an app, you’re better off pulling out your phone. Complications can be useful but the app model is not the solution.
• Sticker packs can be fun for 5 seconds. But actual apps in iMessage are pointless. It’s a messaging service, not a software platform.
• TV is meant to be a passive form of entertainment. When you lie back on your couch, you just want to be entertained. If you want to do something active, you have your Mac and iPad for that. AppleTV exists for passive entertainment. The one exception to that is gaming, but that only works if gaming is given the emphasis it deserves - that means high caliber titles and a native controller. It didn’t have those, so of course it failed.

Hopefully Apple has learned the error of trying to force app stores where they don’t belong and hopefully the company will start to move beyond the app model.