Article content continued

“(Shared content) will also have a little button that says ‘JibJab,’ so if the recipient likes what they are seeing, now with one tap they can get our app without even going to the App Store… and authorize the install from right within iMessage.”

This added convenience for users means they can find new apps through casual messaging. Once JibJab found out about the new Messages extensions, Spiridellis said his company quickly shifted development to focus on being ready for iOS 10’s launch.

“It’s a huge growth opportunity,” he added. “We actually scrapped a lot of our roadmap.”

For other developers, the chance to do more with Apple’s virtual assistant Siri is key. Before this week, Siri wasn’t able to control or manipulate many apps outside of the ones designed by Apple. Now developers can program Siri to be used with any application.

“A piece of feedback we’ve heard pretty consistently from our customers is that it’s hard to actually interact with the app when you’re working out,” said Albert Lee, Under Armour’s vice president of products for its UA Connected Fitness division. “Now we’re actually going to be integrating Siri through SiriKit to voice-enable a lot of the key functions in the apps.”

Meanwhile watchOS 3 will be the Apple Watch’s biggest update yet when it releases in the fall and includes new features such as Instant Launch, which is supposed to open apps up to seven times faster.

“The biggest issue I’ve had when trying to develop for Apple Watch, or do anything with it, is that’s it’s so slow,” said Canadian developer Allan Lavell, co-creator of Hyperspektiv and Glitch Wizard. “I was thinking that they were going to need a hardware refresh before it was even usable.”