Apple's Sherlocking hall of shame has more adds than ever before in 2025

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As it does seemingly every year, Apple has introduced new features with iOS 26 and macOS 26 that target existing third-party apps. Here's what got hit at 2025's WWDC.

Text with a speech bubble icon saying 'Send Sorry to Raycast, Alfred, Flighty' and a 'Run' option on a gradient background.
Just some of the apps that Apple has Sherlocked at WWDC 2025



It's a historical aberration to keep calling it Sherlocking -- the name comes from 2001 when Apple updated its Sherlock search app to include features from a developer's app called Watson. In that case, Watson was destroyed, and a term was born.

It does stick, though. When a Mac user says it, you automatically know what they mean, and what the topic is about.

Anyway, the total destruction of Watson is what got Apple its reputation. There is an argument that even that case was inevitable.

Apple develops its operating systems and if a third-party firm sees an opportunity first, it doesn't mean Apple would not have added it anyway.

Yet if it's an exaggeration to use the word Sherlocking, or "batterygate," or other similar portmanteaus, it's not an exaggeration to say that Apple adopts features previously found in other apps or other operating systems every year. In fact, lately it's happened in between WWDC events too -- as events app Partiful found out when Apple released Apple Invites.

Top of WWDC 25's hit list



This year's biggest wince came during Apple's demonstration of the newly updated Spotlight. You could hear the gulp coming from the developers of Alfred 5, LaunchBar 6, and Raycast, as one of their greatest features was adopted by Spotlight.

The feature is the clipboard manager and on the one hand, Apple should have introduced one before -- and still should introduce on to the iPad. But on the other hand, third-party developers have been providing clipboard managers for the Mac for almost 30 years.

Computer screen with a clipboard panel displaying copied items, including a playground image, address, and pizza recipe. A document titled Live Pet Translation and a speech bubble graphic.
Clipboard history in Spotlight is huge -- and was previously the territory of very popular third-party apps



So they've had a good run. And all of these launcher apps, as they're called, are replete with more features.

Unfortunately, Spotlight also adopted certain elements of those. It's now better at finding files or running Shortcuts, than it was before.

If it's hard not to think of the third-party developers it affects, it's still a great thing that such superb features are being brought to more people. And there is a little hope that once exposed to Apple's usually cut-down versions of power features, users will migrate to the fuller third-party ones.

Edging into third-party app territory



Clipboard history is not the sole function of launcher apps, but it is a very significant one. On a smaller scale, Apple has also now nibbled away at the edges of many more apps that were small enough to properly be called utilities.

Such as the whole class of utility apps that are concerned with tracking parcels and deliveries.

This is a contentious area anyway because such third-party apps rely on tracking information from the likes of Amazon and Fedex. The popular and long-running app Deliveries, for instance, has struggled when some firms scaled back what details they would release.

But it and ones such as Packages continue, and so are threatened by Apple's update to Apple Wallet. That has now been able to show tracking details for some years, but Apple Intelligence means it can better automatically parse out details from order confirmation emails.

Two smartphones display a flight path map from Geneva to Manchester, including details such as flight number, date, and departure times.
Flighty has many more travel features, but Live Activities has now been taken on by Apple



Similarly, Live Activities on the iPhone -- and now also on the Mac -- have added one thing that was previously a unique selling point for travel apps. It's now possible to show flight tracking details in Live Activities, which is great, unless you are the developer behind apps such as Flighty.

Flight tracking was already a tough business to be in -- the superb alternative, App in the Air, closed down in 2024. So taking away a particularly useful feature is likely to be more damaging than it might seem.

Apple (usually) only goes so far



That usually tends to be Apple's approach -- it takes a key feature that will be of most use to most people, rather than replicating whole apps. And for 2025, one of those examples is a very small one that still may have made the developers ofTextExpander take a drink or two.

TextExpander is usually described as a way to quickly add repetitive text, or text such as phone numbers and difficult-to-spell names. Apple's devices have long, long, long been able to do that natively with short items, but TextExpander could do whole paragraphs if needed.

Except Spotlight has made Shortcuts actions more prominent, and added Quick Keys that start off routines. You could create a Shortcut that types out those difficult words and have a Quick Key that runs it.

Even if you wrote a particularly fine Shortcut, you're unlikely to match TextExpander for how powerful its snippets are. But you can now try.

TextExpander, Flighty, and the launcher apps have one advantage in that existing users will recognize the limitations of Apple's new equivalents. There will be some churn, there will be users to quit those apps, but there are also vocal and supportive user communities for both.

Smartwatch displaying prompt to sync notes between iPhone and Apple Watch for a monthly fee, with 'Watch Notes' on a smartphone in the background.
You can now get Apple Notes on the Apple Watch -- but you already could



Whereas it's not very likely that a note-taking app for Apple Watch will have an existing fan club. That said, once users know that Apple Notes is now on the Apple Watch, they might inadvertently buy the existing app called Notes for Apple Watch.

Similarly, there are apps that are popular because they are needed, while their users also rather wish they weren't so necessary. Call screening services, for instance, are not the kind of apps anyone runs to for fun -- and now they probably don't have to, since iPhones come with quite sophisticated call screening.

Niche apps and features



There is an AI app called Cleft that will let you talk and talk and talk, getting every stray thought out of your head. And it will then organize all of that, presenting you with a coherent, structured, useful list of your own points.

You can make any AI service do this, although with varying degrees of usefulness, but Cleft specialized in it. It still does, but Apple adding Apple Intelligence features into Shortcuts mean that I was able to create a Cleft-like Shortcut in minutes.

A workflow interface displays steps for recording audio, transcribing to text, organizing using a cloud model, reformatting with ChatGPT, and copying to clipboard. Sidebar features various text-related actions.
Apple Intelligence in Shortcuts lets you create your own AI tools



For Cleft to lose business because of this, it would mean users seeing the possibility, as well as then writing the Shortcut. Cleft was already relying on users either not being aware every AI service can do this, or finding it more convenient to use this one dedicated app.

Then in a totally different use case, there is an argument that Local Capture on the iPad means some podcast recording services have been Sherlocked. That's less clear since it's common for podcasters to use, say, Riverside, while still making local audio recordings on their Macs.

If those users switch to using iPads as they now -- at last -- can, then they may well stick with Riverside for its various other features. And also for the belt-and-braces security of knowing the service has a recording of all contributors.

There are others such as how Xcode has added AI autocompletion and other coding assistance. Yet that definitely feels like a logical and even necessary development for Xcode.

It's not like Final Cut Pro, where Apple added in Image Playground for absolutely no reason or purpose.

That was an unusual one. Apple's moves are usually more strategic and clearly aimed at making its apps and operating systems better.

Although if Apple has a conscience about how many developers it Sherlocks every year, it's not keeping Tim Cook awake at night.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 1,536member
    To a degree, Apple is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't. While I have sympathy for developers whose businesses get upended when Apple Sherlocks their app's functionality into the OS, surely no developer could be unaware--24 years after Sherlock--that this is always a risk. But the apps keep coming, so I assume that developers have made their peace with this possibility. 

    Apple, unfortunately, will get criticized either way. When it Sherlocks apps into the OS, it's accused of being the 800 pound gorilla stomping on small businesses. And if Apple leaves it to consumers to either purchase or pay ongoing subscription fees (mostly the latter these days) for third party apps to provide these functionalities, then Apple's various OSes get criticized for being "behind" in features.   
    jibnarwhalwilliamlondonmike1Alex1NMplsPAlex_VbonobobmacguiLuftkopf
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  • Reply 2 of 12
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,574member
    I’m not critical of Apple for this. Generally, when Apple adds a feature it is to a core feature set. The clipboard has been around forever and so have ideas about improving it. If anything, I’m surprised it took Apple this long to add even this minimal functionality. 

    Also, I suspect this doesn’t affect pro users as much as average users. I know about clipboard managers but I’m not an intensive enough user to look into getting one. However, now that it is part of the OS I might use it once a month or so.
    jibnarwhalwilliamlondonmike1Alex1NAlex_Vbonobob
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  • Reply 3 of 12
    y2any2an Posts: 256member
    If anything, Apple has been too timid in introducing some of these obvious features sooner and I wonder if that was because of concern for third-party developers or questions about IP ownership? As for the third parties, however good their products are, have they ever had any leverage to protect themselves against competition from anyone (Apple included)? Perhaps they have always been living on borrowed time. 
    Alex_Vfreeassociate2
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  • Reply 4 of 12
    jayweissjayweiss Posts: 83member
    If a third party program is really good then there will be a market for it even if Apple copies some aspect of it. Clipboard managers have been around for decades. There are at least 10 such programs for Mac.

    Windows has a clipboard history feature, but there are still a number of clipboard managers for that platform. 


    MplsP
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  • Reply 5 of 12
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,177member
    charlesn said:
    To a degree, Apple is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't. While I have sympathy for developers whose businesses get upended when Apple Sherlocks their app's functionality into the OS, surely no developer could be unaware--24 years after Sherlock--that this is always a risk. But the apps keep coming, so I assume that developers have made their peace with this possibility. 

    Apple, unfortunately, will get criticized either way. When it Sherlocks apps into the OS, it's accused of being the 800 pound gorilla stomping on small businesses. And if Apple leaves it to consumers to either purchase or pay ongoing subscription fees (mostly the latter these days) for third party apps to provide these functionalities, then Apple's various OSes get criticized for being "behind" in features.   
    Exactly. 
    bonobob
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  • Reply 6 of 12
    dewmedewme Posts: 6,089member
    These things happened frequently with Microsoft with disk compression being a notable example. Of course that doesn’t make it any easier for small developers who believe that they’ve found a niche to slide into and call their own only to see the platform owner jump in and pave over the niche in question. 

    Like many things in business it comes down to which side you’re on. If you’re the platform owner you never want to be in a position where anything you believe is important to fill in the gaps in your platform are off limits. This would create a priority inversion where the larger and more consequential player, in the grand scheme of things, is being blocked by a smaller and less consequential player. The law of the jungle scenario. 

    No doubt however that the little guy feels betrayed. Third party contributions are essential elements of ecosystems. Without third party contributions it isn’t an ecosystem at all, it’s a proprietary closed system. How the platform owner treats third party contributors sets the tone for the ecosystem itself. 

    While Apple welcomes third party participation there are not really any hard and fast rules. If the third party has a significant presence outside of the ecosystem, like Adobe or Microsoft, they are on much firmer grounds, unless things turn into an acquisition scenario. The niche fillers are always going to be on shaky ground if they are augmenting anything that the platform owner thinks should be part of their platforn.

    These scenarios are not at all uncommon. I’ve been on both sides. It’s just another of many things you have to contend with in the business world. Being vulnerable to getting stepped on or taken over is something you have to contend with. 
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  • Reply 7 of 12
    Like the article says - there will be some people who stick to third party apps and others who will probably use both. I am sure 1Password isn't lacking a substantial customer base even though Apple has a password manager. 

    Similarly, people who go the extra mile to optimise their workflow and time will stick to third party apps if they provide more features. 

    I am a casual user, so I do not bother much with third party apps and am always happy when Apple adds functionality to the OS.
    macguilordjohnwhorfin
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  • Reply 8 of 12
    dewmedewme Posts: 6,089member
    I think the notion that you can’t compete against your customers has been dispelled many times. Apple is a customer of Samsung. Dell is a customer of Microsoft.

    It really comes down to whether there is a line that should not be crossed when there is a huge size disparity between the two parties. That of course is the subject of debate. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 12
    I understand the premise of this article. 

    Clipboard managers have been around forever. Currently, I have three different background apps that are managing my clipboard history.

    I do see the demise of something like Alfred 5 (which I use and like) as a little sad.

    I do feel that if your bread and butter is making software to fill a core need in an OS, you have to go in with eyes wide open, knowing you will be constantly on the verge of being assimilated.
    williamlondonbonobobjibmacgui
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  • Reply 10 of 12
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,640member
    The rule of thumb when making an app to do something the OS doesn't, is make hay while the sun shines. In broad general terms an Apple app is likely to work better with the OS than a third-party app. It's not a given, but the case more often than not.

    There also the potential for more functionality or functionality not available to third-party apps because of the lack of access to much of Apple's OS on whatever device. So yes after 24yrs of apps being SHER-LOCKED, any developer has to know there is always the possibility of losing customers because Apple adds a feature or three. 

    I didn't know until just now that Apple Wallet has a level of package tracking. Every carrier I use has their own tracking app except Amazon. There is tracking available within their site but it's kludgey to use. Deliveries once handled all four carriers with aplomb, but is now down to one, the USPS. Amazon can be added manually with several clicks, sans aplomb. So 26 could end my subscription with Deliveries. I await 26 with bated breath.
    edited June 14
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  • Reply 11 of 12
    jetpilotjetpilot Posts: 45member
    All of the aforementioned third-party apps that have been "Sherlocked" this year still do far more than the new Apple features the OS 26 releases. For example, Flighty allows you to track any flight whereas the Apple version only allows you to track a flight you're on since it integrates with a boarding pass. Apple's clipboard manager only keeps an 8-hour history whereas Raycast and other clipboard managers allows you to store much more (plus those apps have dozens of other features). 

    As with most any time Apple "Sherlocks" a feature, they implement the basic surface-level functionality which is fine for most users. But for folks that already use the expanded features of these third-party apps, it's unlikely what Apple has implemented here will fulfill their needs. As with most things Apple, their new features are designed for the masses. If you want deeper and more expanded feature-sets, that's where the third-party apps come in. That's not a bad thing. It allows Apple to implement an expanded list of basic features for all without introducing unnecessary complexity while allowing third-parties to develop markets of their own for power users.
    williamlondonmacgui
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  • Reply 12 of 12
    Zzzzzzzzzzz. Snorkel. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
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