I've tracked 445 Apple launches since 2021. Volume alone is misleading. A category can have fewer launches but higher engagement per product (maturation) or exploding volume with declining quality (saturation). You need both numbers.
Five years of Apple launch data. Volume, engagement, and the products that stood out.
I've tracked 445 Apple launches since 2021. Volume alone is misleading. A category can have fewer launches but higher engagement per product (maturation) or exploding volume with declining quality (saturation). You need both numbers.
| Quarter | Launches | Avg Interest Score | Top Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 27 | 107 | OMEGA Ω™ |
| Q2 2026 | 3 | 133 | Shotwell |
| Q1 2025 | 24 | 170 | Usage |
| Q2 2025 | 25 | 132 | Alter |
| Q3 2025 | 26 | 109 | Dockify |
| Q4 2025 | 27 | 131 | Rubber Duck |
| Q1 2024 | 28 | 119 | Clicks |
| Q2 2024 | 18 | 179 | iOS 18 |
| Q3 2024 | 9 | 149 | tinyPod |
| Q4 2024 | 16 | 196 | CleanMyMac |
| Q1 2023 | 17 | 93 | Apple Music Classical |
| Q2 2023 | 23 | 108 | Any Distance 4.0: Active Clubs |
| Q3 2023 | 24 | 133 | Astro |
| Q4 2023 | 27 | 119 | Trace AI |
| Q1 2022 | 12 | 111 | Bizarre Travel App |
| Q2 2022 | 11 | 97 | Grace |
The Apple category has been steady over the past 6 years of tracked data. Total launches went from 102 in 2021 to 30 in 2026.
Average engagement ratio across all Apple launches: 0.18. Products above that line tend to solve a specific, painful problem. Products below it often entered a crowded space without clear differentiation.
Apple peaked in 2021 with 102 launches. That was 5 years ago. The decline since then could signal market consolidation, saturation, or attention shifting to adjacent categories.
Average engagement per product has held steady around 0.18 across the full dataset. The audience for Apple tools is consistent. Engagement doesn't rise or fall with volume, which suggests a stable base of interested users.
The highest-performing quarter was Q4 2024, with an average interest score of 196 across 16 launches. CleanMyMac led that quarter.
209 B2B launches (46%) vs 236 B2C (54%) across the full Apple dataset. The split is close to even. Apple serves both business buyers and individual users.
2021: 102 launches. Average interest: 102. Average engagement: 0.17. Top launch: WWDC Together 2.0 (273 interest).
2022: 49 launches (-52% vs 2021). Average interest: 108. Average engagement: 0.18. Top launch: AirPods Pro Second Generation (517 interest).
2023: 91 launches (+86% vs 2022). Average interest: 115. Average engagement: 0.16. Top launch: Astro (497 interest).
2024: 71 launches (-22% vs 2023). Average interest: 155. Average engagement: 0.14. Top launch: CleanMyMac (730 interest).
2025: 102 launches (+44% vs 2024). Average interest: 135. Average engagement: 0.22. Top launch: Usage (482 interest).
2026: 30 launches (-71% vs 2025). Average interest: 110. Average engagement: 0.17. Top launch: OMEGA Ω™ (433 interest).
Three common reasons. The market consolidated around winners. The technology matured and stopped generating new startups. Or builder attention shifted to adjacent categories. Usually it's a combination.
Volume without engagement is saturation. Engagement without volume is opportunity. Check which one you're looking at.
Sum of all interest scores in the quarter divided by number of products. Simple average. We don't weight by category or product age.
Depends on what's declining. If volume drops but engagement rises, the market is maturing. That's often good for existing players. If both drop, the category may be dying. The quarterly breakdown on each page tells you which pattern you're seeing.
At least three. Two data points is a line, not a trend. We have five years of data for most categories, which is enough to distinguish real shifts from noise.
Current year launches compared to the same period last year. Positive means more products launching. Negative means the category cooled. Neither is inherently good or bad. A mature category with fewer but better launches is often healthier than one flooding the market with clones.
Launch volume drops but engagement per product rises. Fewer builders entering, but the ones that do find a more receptive audience. That's an opportunity signal. We flag it when we see it.