Let’s start with the visual overhaul. Apple has reimagined the App Store interface across all its devices, making it more dynamic, fluid, and immersive. This shift is part of a broader design transformation: Liquid Glass.

This is a new UI language that combines real-time responsiveness with a transparent, layered aesthetic. Every element now reacts organically to your actions, whether you’re moving your device, scrolling with your finger, or gliding a mouse across the screen.
Menus expand fluidly, interface elements adjust and minimize as you scroll, and the overall layout has a renewed sense of depth and movement. The result feels alive. It’s not just prettier — Liquid Glass makes the interface more responsive, more intuitive, and undeniably more Apple.
It’s worth noting that the design language we’ve seen up through iOS 18 has its roots in iOS 7. This Liquid Glass overhaul in iOS 26 marks the beginning of a new design era for Apple, one that will influence its entire ecosystem in the years ahead.

Other notable improvements announced at the conference include a significant upgrade for AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2. Now supporting studio-quality recordings — a major leap for content creators and professionals. On the iPad front, Apple introduced a completely redesigned window system that mirrors the Mac experience. This allowing users to open multiple windows, auto-arrange them, and run apps in the background. The addition of a horizontal menu bar further enhances multitasking and usability. These updates mark a clear push toward making the iPad a true productivity device. With such powerful tools now at hand, could we see a broader shift in how iPads are used in the workplace? Apple certainly seems to be betting on it.

Despite the introduction of Apple Intelligence, critics have pointed to the lack of significant progress with Siri and the absence of a clear strategic commitment to AI. One standout feature is the use of artificial intelligence for real-time translation during conversations. While impressive, the translation currently appears as on-screen text rather than audio. The real news in this section will likely emerge in 2026 – 2027.
However, Apple has brought meaningful AI enhancements to the Apple Watch, making it more intelligent and responsive to your environment. For example, if you’re in a quiet setting, notification sounds will automatically adjust to be more discreet. Widgets are now more dynamic and context-aware, no longer confined to a single stacked layout. And here’s a handy new trick: with a simple gesture, you can now dismiss a call or silence a notification—no need to touch the screen.

Here are some of the most notable new features we wanted to share with you—but there’s more. There are new updates related to Apple Games, Wallet, Messages, Apple Glasses and the Phone app. The advance toward a future full of change and innovation has begun, and Apple is clearly ready to shape what comes next.

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Many have likened this innovation to the iPhone 4 epoch, which introduced the Retina Display. Despite the Vision Pro’s steep price tag of $3,499, we’re genuinely thrilled about its potential.

From a productivity standpoint, if it can stand as a primary device for tasks, its value becomes quite clear. This device will appeal to those frequently working remotely – whether in transit, at second homes, or elsewhere – who will appreciate the expanded workable area and the ability to fully function without the limitations of a small laptop. This will particularly appeal to those accustomed to operating with multiple monitors, myself included.

In the realm of entertainment, the potential for viewing movies on a ‘large screen’ and in private settings like on flights, or engaging with sports in a more immersive (and potentially social) manner, is very enticing.

However, we believe it will usher in a revolutionary shift in app marketing, a feat not accomplished by previous Apple products:

While the iPad was essentially a different form factor for iPhone apps, Apple Watch apps were spatially restricted and mainly attractive for fitness enthusiasts, and the Apple TV found most of its use with entertainment apps.

These app limitations likely prevented these ecosystems from flourishing in the way we anticipate the Vision Pro ecosystem will:

It’s clear that various sectors could greatly appeal to Vision Pro users. Games and entertainment are the obvious frontrunners. But in their presentation, Apple highlighted productivity, and we foresee other categories overhauling their app services to accommodate Vision Pro. Consider, for instance:

One-on-one video consultations could revolutionize how businesses like banks interact with customers and the related costs. Retailers might present their products in a more visual format, encouraging spontaneous shopping experiences. Imagine, for instance, a shopping experience that closely mimics visiting a physical supermarket. Language learning apps could provide superior education by immersing students in bustling streets of potential travel destinations, and other educational apps could simulate real-world testing environments, like classrooms.

The above examples might not create intriguing experiences on the iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple TV, but they make perfect sense for the Vision Pro.

VR technology is not a new concept, but if Apple succeeds in creating a truly immersive experience – and if other companies follow suit, as we’ve seen with smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and smart TVs – we may be on the brink of an app ecosystem that rivals only smartphones.

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The Demographic Drivers

In March, India overtook China as the world’s most populous country. However, it’s not just the sheer numbers that matter; the structure of the population is crucial as well. China’s demographic pyramid, coupled with lower retirement ages, presents a potential crisis, which might push companies to seek growth opportunities abroad.

The Japanese tech industry may also follow suit, spurred by their country’s population decline. Japan lost 644,000 people in 2022 alone, and this trend is projected to continue, with the population forecasted to shrink to 88 million by 2065, a 30% decline in 45 years. As a result, the need for overseas expansion will be increasingly critical.

The Economic Rationale

The economic factors further reinforce the argument for internationalisation and its impact on apps: China’s slower than expected growth rate of 2.2% in 2022 due to Covid lockdowns. Thus, as domestic economic growth slows, companies will be incentivised to explore foreign markets to avoid stagnation.

For many Chinese companies, this is uncharted territory, but they do have role models to look up to. Bytedance’s TikTok has shown how a Chinese company can conquer the West. Its monumental success could well be a blueprint for other Chinese tech firms looking to expand internationally.

Western Companies: The Flip Side of the Coin

Western companies, too, are not immune to these challenges. As they face similar demographic and economic pressures, we can expect to see them making moves to enter Asian markets.

Furthermore, western companies and governments may intensify their efforts to pressurise Chinese officials to open up their markets. A successful expansion of Chinese businesses abroad might compel officials to reciprocate, thus allowing Western companies to gain a stronger foothold in China.

Understated Success Stories

While we may not see another TikTok-like success that steals the PR spotlight, we should not underestimate the smaller triumphs. In the quiet corners of the tech industry, many companies are making inroads into foreign markets. These could be game developers, crypto projects, or other tech-based ventures that are quietly succeeding on each other’s turf.

The Challenges of Launching Apps in China

While the tech industry is geared up for an era of internationalisation, launching apps in the Chinese market poses unique challenges. One of these hurdles is the highly fragmented app store market in China.

Unlike in the West, where Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store dominate, China has a plethora of Android app stores vying for users’ attention. Giants like Tencent, Baidu, and Huawei each operate their own stores, and the Google Play Store holds a negligible market share. This fragmentation means that to reach a broad user base, apps need to be listed on multiple platforms, which can increase operational complexity and cost.

Another significant barrier for foreign companies trying to launch apps in China is the country’s stringent licensing requirements. Chinese authorities require companies to obtain licenses before their apps can be approved on app stores or before they can engage in advertising activities. The licensing process can be cumbersome and time-consuming, especially for foreign companies unfamiliar with the local regulatory environment.

Moreover, the licenses are not just a one-time requirement; they need to be maintained and renewed, adding to the ongoing operational expenses. This can deter smaller companies or start-ups with limited resources from attempting to enter the Chinese market.

Notwithstanding these challenges, the potential rewards of succeeding in the Chinese market are enormous, given its vast user base and increasing digital consumption. As such, while the road to launching apps in China may be fraught with challenges, for many tech companies, it’s a journey worth undertaking. It will, however, require meticulous planning, a thorough understanding of the regulatory landscape, and a willingness to adapt to a unique digital ecosystem.

The Challenges Ahead

However, this path is not without its challenges. The political tensions between China and the US might make it difficult for Chinese companies to establish themselves in the West. To overcome this, they’ll need to invest in lobbying efforts and strive to appear less connected to the Chinese government.

We believe the tech industry is on the cusp of a transformative period of internationalisation in the next years, driven by a confluence of demographic and economic factors. This shift may lead to a more globalised tech landscape, where East meets West, and vice versa. However, this journey will not be without its hurdles, and it will be fascinating to watch how these trends play out.

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Let’s start with why it was understandable:

Years ago, the app stores (especially Apple’s App Store) did not provide much in the way of data analytics when it came to creative testing. The Google Play Console did allow for basic AB testing with Google Experiments, but there wasn’t (even today) any way to control of the source of traffic. In our view, this renders AB Tests invalid: If one of your variants matches that of an acquisition campaign accounting for most of your traffic, it might outperform other variants, but this doesn’t mean it was a better performing.

There was clearly a need for companies (especially in the gaming space) to optimise app store creatives. After all, a 5% improvement in conversions thanks to AB testing can equate to huge savings and increased organic downloads for high volume apps (and/or those with high CPIs). Enter companies like StoreMaven and SplitMetrics (now Splitmetrics Optimize):

It worked a bit like this: You could create a ‘pretend’ App Store Product page that had all the tracking that the App Store or Play Store didn’t provide: You could get click tracking, heatmaps, and even how many images were scrolled or for how long they spent viewing videos.

Clearly, having this information would be useful, but there were a couple of ‘catches’: As mentioned, the traffic was going to a ‘pretend’ Product Page, that once the user decided to install, they were sent to the real Product Page. Of course, that leads to some users being confused and abandoning their intention to install.

The other catch is that you needed to send traffic to those pages. For instance, you could send traffic from a Facebook Ads campaign (and this before counting on the cost of using the platform – especially considering their opaque pricing)

Clearly, both things combined meant there was a significant cost to learning. Still, for the right company this could be valuable. And so many gaming companies used these kinds of tools.

Move forward some years and while Google Play Console’s capabilities remain pretty much untouched, the App Store first added Creative Tests on Apple Search ads, to then improve the testing capabilities with last year’s introduction of the Custom Product Pages:

Apps can now create up to 35 Custom Product pages (read Landing Pages) and send traffic to these. Not only Tap Through Rates and Taps to Install can be asserted, but also the ultimate CPI. And if you use a tool like Appsflyer, you can even learn ARPUs or LTVs per user. All of this directly from within Apple’s Search Ads.

It’s no wonder the value of these tools like StoreMaven was decimated. We’re certain some companies could find an edge in using those marginal games, but we’d be hard pressed to recommend them ahead of the benefits of using Apple Search Ads directly.

Let’s move to the why it raised eyebrows:

And so, it wasn’t that surprising these companies ended up struggling, or that StoreMaven was acquired. Yet what we found surprising was the lack of buzz at Activision / Take2 being the acquirer.

It clearly makes sense for a company like Activision – counting with loads of games in the app stores to get expertise leading to improvements in the Stores. We’d guess some of their apps would have been some of their last loyal clients. But it must have been quite a reaction for CMOs of Activision / Take2 competitors who used StoreMaven: Surely their first thought must have been regarding experiments data carried during years.

Not only they spent traffic to acquire that traffic over years and paid their licenses for it, but Activision and their apps could now correlate their experiments with their decision making on creative iteration for years. AFter all, tools like MobileAction or AppTweak give visibility on historical changes made.

More recently, German agency Phiture acquired ASOGiraffe (a small competitor of StoreMaven), so a similar situation arises: If you used ASO Giraffe and your competitor uses Phiture, they’ll have indirect access to your data.

Had these been acquisitions at larger scales, we think it would have triggered concerns by competition regulators. And so, it makes us think that for any brand, using these kind of analytics raises a grave concern: What if your data ended up with your competitors?

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