You can see its traces each time you use an application that makes use of a macOS API that uses the NS — ‘NeXTStep’ prefix. That means you’re using NeXT when you work in SwiftUI, use Apple’s core frameworks, or write code for use across different platforms in the current ecosystem. Despite the many names for Apple’s platforms, they all have a little NeXT in common.
The need for a new, modern operating system was critical at the time to Apple. The company had fallen into the doldrums with its classic Mac OS operating system and competitors had forged ahead, at least in marketshare. Among others, Michael Dell, Time Magazine, and almost everyone else expected the company to collapse. NeXT was the salvation, Jobs the icon, and history the prize.
The next challenge now
Today’s Apple faces a fresh existential challenge, and while much of it feels media-driven, the company does need to introduce an intelligence layer around and upon its platforms, alongside the tools developers need to exploit AI within their applications.
Apple knows this, too, which is why it already offers Apple Intelligence APIs to developers to use in their apps. The company also knows they need a way to market those software ideas and get them into the hands of end users; that’s what the App Store provides.
