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Apple Merges iOS, WatchOS and Mac Developer Programs

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple today announced that it is merging all of its developer programs into a single developer program, letting developers pay one fee to access both Mac and iOS developer tools. Before today, Apple offered a Mac developer program and an iOS developer program, accessible with separate $100 fees.

applemergeddevprograms-800x392.jpg
The new Apple Developer Program combines everything you need to develop, distribute, and manage your apps on all Apple platforms into one single program, making it easier than ever to bring your creativity to over a billion customers around the world. Get your apps ready for the App Store on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, by enrolling in the Apple Developer Program today.
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It now costs $99 to access all SDKs and betas of iOS 9, OS X, and the company's newest software platform, watchOS. Apple has created a support document to explain the changes and walk developers through the process of transitioning to the new membership program.

All individual and organization developer accounts have been upgraded to the new program and can access the tools for iOS and OS X. Membership expiration dates and Technical Support Incidents have not been changed. For those who had memberships to both former programs, the new single account has an extended expiration date that includes the sum of days that remained in each program.

Article Link: Apple Merges iOS, WatchOS and Mac Developer Programs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/08/apple-merges-developer-programs/
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Reactions: grahamperrin
I find it's now impossible to submit the enrolment form. It simply takes me back to the same page, with all the data in the URL (HTTP GET request) and the form back to its un-filled state.
 
Yeah but the lack of women in development! [/social media outrage]
kwokaaron said:
They really shouldn't have used a number as the logo for the watchOS. Makes it confusing since iOS already uses it.
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Well yeah but one's a roman numeral, the other is a number with a squared off logo and the other is a number that's round. I guess ya just gotta remember shapes and numbers.
 
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Belazor said:
I find it's now impossible to submit the enrolment form. It simply takes me back to the same page, with all the data in the URL (HTTP GET request) and the form back to its un-filled state.
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I submitted mine without a problem hours ago, but got an email saying order processing and still hasn't processed yet. As I can't download the iOS or OS X yet. Imagine the servers are all over loaded.
 
Peel said:
Not only that, but the iOS logo background is actually the shape of the Apple Watch, where as the WatchOS circle, well... isn't.
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Alternatively, the iOS logo background is the shape of an iOS app. The Watch logo is the shape of a Watch app. :)

And for good measure, at least a lot of the apps in OS X are circles, too. Can't tell if they're moving towards that or not, though, as clearly they aren't all that way.
 
jayducharme said:
Smart move. I wouldn't be surprised if the double-fees were one reason why Mac app development seemed to lag behind iOS.
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Doubtful. $99 is quickly made up with a handful of sales.

Lets say your app costs $20. Apple gets 30%. You sell 8 copies and you are ahead.
 
I generally think this is a nice move by Apple.

I just hope, there will not be too many gimmick apps cluttering the Mac App Store. I hope, it goes the other way around.
 
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unplugme71 said:
Doubtful. $99 is quickly made up with a handful of sales.

Lets say your app costs $20. Apple gets 30%. You sell 8 copies and you are ahead.
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That's a fair point, however for me I don't do much on the Mac programming wise these days as I write mainly for iOS. Having (effectively) free access to (what was) the Mac Developer Programme means I'm much more likely to dip my toe back in to the Mac coding side because it's not really costing me anything extra.

I'm really pleased Apple have done this. I've thought for years that this is the way it should be. It just makes sense.
 
Mac OS X programming has never required a developer subscription (and I hope it never does, that would be a travesty).

You only need the dev program if you want to use the Mac App Store.

AJClayton said:
That's a fair point, however for me I don't do much on the Mac programming wise these days as I write mainly for iOS. Having (effectively) free access to (what was) the Mac Developer Programme means I'm much more likely to dip my toe back in to the Mac coding side because it's not really costing me anything extra.

I'm really pleased Apple have done this. I've thought for years that this is the way it should be. It just makes sense.
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zorinlynx said:
Mac OS X programming has never required a developer subscription (and I hope it never does, that would be a travesty).

You only need the dev program if you want to use the Mac App Store.
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I'm well aware of that - I didn't word my reply very well. When I wrote my first Mac software I distributed it myself, however having access to the Mac App Store in the same way as I've always had access to the iOS App Store can only be a good thing.
 
AJClayton said:
That's a fair point, however for me I don't do much on the Mac programming wise these days as I write mainly for iOS. Having (effectively) free access to (what was) the Mac Developer Programme means I'm much more likely to dip my toe back in to the Mac coding side because it's not really costing me anything extra.

I'm really pleased Apple have done this. I've thought for years that this is the way it should be. It just makes sense.
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I agree. Its one company. Why have multiple developer accounts? I'm happy they merged it all together and even kept the price the same.
 
Rudy69 said:
I think the bigger issue is the really really low sales compared to the iOS AppStore
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I will admit I don't buy a lot of Mac apps compared to when I used Windows. Not sure if there is a lack of quality apps or what. Sometimes they don't exist on the App Store too. Another reason, you get better deals buying direct from them. Yeah the update feature in one place is nice, but both apps have auto-update built in anyway which is just as easy.

I use 1Password and iBank from the MAS.

vmWare Fusion I buy directly from vmware. 1) not listed in MAS 2) I get 25% on purchases.

I also use a few apps from Prosoft Engineering.

And that's all I have regarding 3rd party.
 
Glad I didn't renew my Mac membership this past year, would have become a moot point. Good to see this change in the developer program, however.
 
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