What you need to know
- Setapp has published the new results of its Mac developer survey.
- Turns out 81% of developers on Apple silicon are loving their experience.
- 26% say they rely on a subscription model for monetization, with nearly 70% charging less than $10 a month.
Setapp has this week published the results of its sixth annual Mac developer survey, revealing that 63% of respondents are using Apple silicon and 81% are having a great time.
The survey reveals all sorts of interesting facts about developing on the Mac. While the App Store might be a sticking point for some developers on iOS 16 and beyond, macOS developers always have the option to distribute their software through a number of channels. Only 29% use the Mac App Store exclusively, equally 29% don't use the App Store, but 42% use both the App Store and other channels, with developers' own websites by far the biggest other channel.
Subscriptions are also apparently on the rise in terms of monetization on Mac:
Monetization-wise, 26% of Mac developers rely on the subscription model, and 31% say they are willing to try it out in the future. Most widely used subscription models are paid and freemium, with nearly 70% of developers keeping the price under $9.99 per month.
When it comes to Apple silicon, developers continue to move to devices like the MacBook Air with M1 and 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1, and Apple's best MacBooks and desktop Apple silicon machines are proving popular. 63% are now working on M1-based Macs and 81% are happy with the experience.
Around half of the developers say they have major updates planned for their apps in 2022. More surprisingly, 70% of developers say they have been affected by the war in Ukraine:
From the survey, we found out that 70% of Mac developers have been affected by the war. 9% — severely affected. 68% say they totally support the idea of using product features, or even creating new features, to help Ukraine. 53% have stopped using software and frameworks that originated in Russia.
With WWDC 2022 in the bag, both developers and users on the Mac have plenty of new software features and tools for creating great apps to look forward to, and a shiny new M2 MacBook Air sporting the latest generation of Apple silicon.
