How Apple Got Its Groove Back

More than a week after Apple's WWDC keynote, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around everything that was announced.

I went into San Francisco's Moscone Center West expecting to see the Cupertino company unveil iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite, a few new features, maybe some new hardware. I didn't expect Apple to introduce app extensions for iOS 8, third-party keyboards, an SDK for home automation and health and a ton of features to make it easy to shift between a Mac and iOS device.

Oh yeah, and there was also a new programming language. Holy cow.


But it wasn't just the new tools and toys. Something about Apple, the company, seemed palpably different at WWDC 2014 compared to past conferences.

I'm not the only one that noticed a change. All week at WWDC, I repeatedly heard from developers who were shocked — and delighted — by both Apple's announcements and the company's more open vibe. And that vibe extended beyond just the new stuff in Xcode.

For instance, information in the sessions at WWDC were no longer shielded by an NDA, meaning developers could talk openly about the new changes to both operating systems. Sure, screenshots and full-on reviews were still barred, but the veil of secrecy that serves primarily to annoy developers rather than actually protect anything, was starting to fall.

In the media, some heralded these changes as the beginning of a "new Apple," while others remarked that Apple had its confidence back. Although I certainly think the Apple at WWDC seemed more confident and assured, I'm not sure I agree that this is a brand new Apple.

Instead, it's an Apple that has been percolating under the surface for several years. To use an expression from one of Disney's best — and criminally underwatched — films, this was Apple's new groove.

I discussed some of my early thoughts on "Apple's new groove" with Rene Ritchie on last week's Vector podcast, particularly in one of its most visible areas: developer relations.

Working with others without losing your own identity

Apple's new groove is especially visible when it comes to the company's approach to developers.

Apple has never been known as a particularly developer-friendly company — or at least, not

friendly in the way that Microsoft, Google and even Facebook are. For most Mac and iOS developers I've spoken with over the years, there always seems to be an "us versus them" divide between Apple and the people who build apps and tools for its platforms. there always seems to be an "us versus them" divide between Apple and the people who build apps and tools for its platforms.

The nature of this relationship comes up at every WWDC. Some developers more charitably describe dealing with Apple as "one-sided," while others liken it to an abusive relationship you just can't get out of, without any hint of irony.

"My new app is almost complete," one developer told me before WWDC. "I just hope they don't announce anything that fucks up all my work. I mean, I'm sure it will be awesome, I just don't want to have to redo everything right away." That excitement, tempered by fear, is something most Apple developers can relate to.

Apple introduced a ton of new tools at WWDC 2014, but what was even bigger than those tools was the way they were introduced to developers. Craig Federighi was on fire. He was a great presenter — not just to the non-technical audience in the media, but to the developers in the room and watching from their screens across the world. He managed to make the classic "us versus them" dynamic that is an undertone at almost any Apple developer event disappear.

That change was even more clear in the developer sessions at WWDC. Everyone I spoke with seemed overwhelmed by the new toys. "Apple gave me more than I ever could have wished for," was the most common refrain I heard. That and an electric sense of excitement and renewed energy aimed at both iOS and OS X.

David Smith, the developer of FeedWrangler, perfectly described the tonal shift between Apple and developers in a blog post called "Opportunities, not Obligations":

"When I left WWDC last year I felt like I had a long to-do list of things that I needed to do ...This year is the opposite. I don't have a to-do list of things that I need to do, I have a list of things I want to do. "

 Developer Casey Liss further encapsulated the important shift in developer sentiment on his blog:

Leading into WWDC 2014, the relationship between Apple and the developers that rely on their ecosystem was extremely adversarial. More than that, it was untenable.
This week, as developers learned more and more about the new tools Apple is providing, and about the new territories they can explore, things took a turn. What just one week ago was "us versus them" is now "you and us, together."

I have been watching Apple's development ecosystem for nearly 20 years — going back to Dave Winer's DaveNet newsletter in 1996 or 1997. The Apple I saw at WWDC 2014 was the most in-tune with its developers — and the most willing to have a two-way relationship — that I have ever seen.

Putting Steve to rest
So what has changed, within Apple, that has allowed this new groove — and this better relationship with developers — to emerge?

I'll state the obvious: Apple has a new CEO. Yes, Tim Cook officially took over as Apple CEO nearly three years ago. But WWDC 2014 was the first Apple event that felt like it was Apple under Tim Cook — and not Apple, run by Tim Cook, but still running the Steve Jobs playbook.

Throughout the week at WWDC, I kept hearing remarks from developers such as "Steve never would have allowed third-party keyboards," or "this is very un-Steve-like."

This type of commentary isn't new. It's become rote and cliche and many of us roll our eyes as soon as the first "Steve would have never" is uttered.

And yet. As my friend Matt Drance pointed out, this year, the sentiment was true. Many of the things Apple announced at WWDC 2014 wouldn't have happened under Steve Jobs. Many of the things Apple announced at WWDC 2014 wouldn't have happened under Steve Jobs.

The thing is, that doesn't — and shouldn't — detract from how great those announcements were. More importantly, not being what Steve would have done doesn't make those decisions wrong.

Tim Cook says that Steve Jobs's big piece of advice to him was not to ask what Jobs would have done, to go his own way. Actually being able to take that advice, however, is something different.

For three years, Apple as a company has been in mourning. It's understandable. Steve Jobs was the face of Apple on the outside and the inside. As Drance writes, "Apple has needed time to cope not just with losing Steve, but with the idea that Apple wouldn't be his company anymore."

Apple has finally stopped mourning its founder and is ready to celebrate the best parts of Steve Jobs's vision, while also carving out the next phase for Apple. At WWDC 2014, Tim Cook showed the world that he was finally ready to take Jobs's advice.