Sep 7, 2026 · 47 min · 10 segments
This week on AppStories, we celebrate the 500th episode of the show with a look at the App Store's past, present, and future. On AppStories+, Federico and John pick some of their all-time favorite…
John VoorheesHost
Federico ViticciHost
And so I thought for episode 500, we should talk about the App Store, past, present, and future.
Because we are in, I think, in a time period with the App Store right now that is kind of unprecedented.
Very chaotic and active times on the App Store, both as it got started back in 2008 and where it stands today in 2026.
I want to go back and really relive a little bit of what the original App Store was like.
It was transformative in ways I think that are maybe not apparent to everybody today, because it's very easy to look at the App Store and be critical of it.
And I think Apple hasn't always handled the App Store well, and we'll talk about some of those issues as we go along today.
It really was a unique thing when the App Store came along, enabling an enormous economy of app developers.
I remember when I was younger, and if you wanted to get into development, you had to do things like maybe buy Microsoft Visual Basic for like $400 that came with this big thick paper book.
There was different levels of service and perks that came along with being a developer back then.
They took away all the costs, except for when you wanted to actually sell on the App Store, when they would charge you $100 fee to access the store itself, which is the same price that they charge today.
And I think that, you know, we don't think about that a lot today, but I think that really was a big deal that, you know, obviously it was self-interested.
Apple jump-started the entire app ecosystem by making it basically free for students and anybody, you know, who wanted to download Xcode and give it a go.
And for me, I mean, for me, it's very personal because I have two kids out of my three boys who are app developers.
And so I thought for episode 500, we should talk about the App Store, past, present, and future.
Because we are in, I think, in a time period with the App Store right now that is kind of unprecedented.
Very chaotic and active times on the App Store, both as it got started back in 2008 and where it stands today in 2026.
I want to go back and really relive a little bit of what the original App Store was like.
It was transformative in ways I think that are maybe not apparent to everybody today, because it's very easy to look at the App Store and be critical of it.
And I think Apple hasn't always handled the App Store well, and we'll talk about some of those issues as we go along today.
It really was a unique thing when the App Store came along, enabling an enormous economy of app developers.
I remember when I was younger, and if you wanted to get into development, you had to do things like maybe buy Microsoft Visual Basic for like $400 that came with this big thick paper book.
There was different levels of service and perks that came along with being a developer back then.
They took away all the costs, except for when you wanted to actually sell on the App Store, when they would charge you $100 fee to access the store itself, which is the same price that they charge today.
And I think that, you know, we don't think about that a lot today, but I think that really was a big deal that, you know, obviously it was self-interested.
Apple jump-started the entire app ecosystem by making it basically free for students and anybody, you know, who wanted to download Xcode and give it a go.
And for me, I mean, for me, it's very personal because I have two kids out of my three boys who are app developers.
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