Thanks to iOS10 Sticker Feature, Artists Are App Developers

Finally, the singularity NYC app developers has been waiting for has occurred: stickers in iMessage.

Stickers have been the hot new thing in the messaging app craze ever since they made the jump from Asia-centric platforms like Line Friends and WeChat to mainstream western chat apps like Facebook Messenger. Much like Line, iMessage opens their sticker pack library to any artist willing to take the time to design and properly format a set.

The difference between Line and iMessage, however, is that Apple sticker developers send in their applications just like full-fledged app submissions. This is good, because stickers sets carry some of the potential for big financial rewards that app development does. (It’s less good, however, when you consider the $100 fee to register as and Apple developer.)

Sticker developers have already gotten creative with the possibilities of stickers on the iMessage platform, which offers some interesting layering and positioning options for stickers unique to iOS 10. Take Phoneys for example, a sticker set that’s currently going viral, which allows users to prank friends with stickers that look like messages from their own accounts:

Other offerings include regular sticker fare like cute animations, talking animals, and plenty of adorable seals, rabbits, etc.

Apple apparently sees some potential in the value of sticker packs as mini-startups, as they’ve opted to streamline the process directly within Xcode. (Which technically make’s the artists submitting sets app developers.) This is no surprise, considering the approximately $270 Line make’s annually selling stickers in their chat platform — alongside $75 million in the first year alone from user-generated sticker submissions.

Needless to say, this money can go a long way as Apple aggressively strives to take their products to the next level in spite of stock price dips with features like wireless headphones that have proven controversial among diehard Apple users.