Caught up in the noise of WWDC week, I think this initiative from Apple is one which has flown under the radar. I see it as a move of huge significance, and as the beginning of a renewed focus toward the Mac App Store. There have been complaints recently about the profitability and sustainability of developing for the Mac, so the incentive to sign up for a $99 developer licence to write apps for a mediocre store just isn’t there. But by now making it free to millions of existing iOS developers, we could see a surge and push towards more Mac “companion” or even standalone apps from these developers, which would be a huge boost for both the store and platform. 

I know for myself it has got me thinking about experimenting with a Mac app – something which I would never have done a week ago. 

This is really neat. Would never have considered Mac development prior to today- now I seriously am! #WWDC15 pic.twitter.com/74sXMLqTt0

— Zach (@zachsimone) June 9, 2015

We’ll only see where this leads, but I think it’s the start of something new … possibly Mac App Store 2.0.