“Apple may clip off a couple percentage of their free users, but what they don't do is take the people that would pay for AllTrails and Flo. Those people do not just stay on Apple — they're trying to look for a premium experience. If you're an app that hasn't innovated, that's kind of just a me-too app sitting at the bottom of the rankings, that's the hardest spot to be.”

Build deep and verticalized — broad shallow platform features don't take paying users

Platform sherlocking is frequently overhyped. When Apple adds hiking maps or period tracking it attracts free users but almost never converts the high-intent paying audience — those users seek depth, community, and features no OS-level app will build. The defense is simple: verticalize and go deep. AllTrails adding social features, Flo moving into perimenopause, OnX adding layered maps — these are moats Apple will never bother to match.