Apple is looking to improve its relationship with and help out app developers in Europe as it announces plans to open its first Apple Developer Center on the continent. It will be located in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, and will open its doors later this year. Apple already has Developer Centers in Bengaluru, Cupertino, Shanghai and Singapore.
The center will be a place where developers can attend workshops where they will learn more about the wide variety of Apple platforms: phones with iOS, tablets with iPadOS, desktops with macOS, smartwatches with watchOS, streaming devices with tvOS and XR headsets with visionOS.
Additionally, developers will be able to get in-person sessions and one-on-one appointments with Apple experts if they need more concrete support for the apps that they are working on. There will be consultation areas and dedicated labs too with “Apple experts in multiple languages” – we’re not sure whether that means spoken languages or programming languages. Probably both.
A preview of the Apple Developer Center in Berlin
By the way, there is an Apple Developer Academy in Naples, Italy, as well as Apple Foundation Programs in Italy and France. If you are a developer, you should also check out the App Store Small Business Program, which (among other things) offers a reduced commission rate of 15% for small operations that make less than $1 million during a calendar year.
The press release also reveals some interesting stats – Apple App Stores across Europe amounted to 150 million average weekly users last year.
“Europe is home to an extraordinary community of developers who are building apps that create connections, encourage creativity, and drive innovation. We have always believed that when developers have the right tools and resources to do their best work, incredible things follow. That belief is what this center is built on, and we look forward to seeing what the community continues to develop,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations.