A summary of the apps that Apple “Sherlocked” at WWDC 2022, like Camo with Continuity Camera, Klarna with Apple Pay Later, and Pillbox with medication tracking
Apple introduced some amazing updates across iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS at the worldwide developer conference (WWDC) last week.
Context & Ripple Effects
This recap lands mid-pattern rather than as a one-off: back in 2019, leaked iOS 13 plans showed Apple folding Maps, Reminders, and Messages upgrades into the OS while shipping its own Calculator and Voice Memos on watchOS, and the same beat repeated when the WWDC 2024 roundup caught Apple absorbing password managers like 1Password and LastPass two years later. WWDC 2022 sits between those: Continuity Camera overlaps Camo's webcam software, Apple Pay Later mirrors Klarna's core installment product, and Health gains medication tracking that Pillbox was built around.
First-order effects
- Camo, Klarna, and Pillbox each lose their differentiation overnight on Apple platforms: the feature they sell becomes a free, default part of macOS, Wallet, and Health respectively.
Second-order effects
- Klarna's standalone installment business faces a distribution problem, since Apple Pay Later ships inside the Wallet app every iPhone user already has, squeezing customer acquisition for third-party BNPL providers.
- Utility and accessory developers watching the pattern have to price platform risk into their roadmaps, favoring cross-platform or subscription models over single-OS tools.
Third-order effects
- If the 2019-to-2024 cadence holds, 'Sherlocking' stops being an occasional hazard and becomes a structural feature of the App Store economy: independent developers effectively subsidize Apple's R&D by proving categories before the OS absorbs them.
- The recurring overlap between first-party features and third-party businesses gives regulators and developers a concrete case study in platform self-preferencing, even though no enforcement action appears in this coverage.
The trend: Apple is institutionalizing category absorption at each WWDC cycle, turning platform dependency into a predictable, recurring risk for third-party app businesses.