As it does every year, Apple today has put together its end-of-the-year “Best of” sections on the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store. The sections are meant to highlight the best content of the year across various categories. For instance, Apple has named photo editing app “Prisma” as the iPhone App of the Year.
Netflix has long been one of the most popular iOS apps, but over recent months, the company has seen its revenue from the mobile increase exponentially. As noted in the latest data from analytics firm SensorTower, Netflix recently cracked the number spot on the Top Grossing charts in the United States for the first time ever.
Games developers say they have detected significant abuse of Apple’s refund policy on apps, and are being forced to take their own steps to hit back after Apple refused to help.
At least four developers cited in The Korea Times say that the problem is that people are repeatedly purchasing games and in-app content, asking Apple for a refund – which is normally granted without question – and then continuing to use the content. It is not easy for developers to block access to the content because Apple refuses to reveal the identities of those who have been refunded …
Apple confirmed today that iTunes Connect will be unavailable for a five-day period lasting from December 23 to 27. The pre-announced shut down is part of Apple’s annual time off period for app reviewers at the company.
Apple is reportedly planning to change how it handles subscriptions for video streaming services via the App Store. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple will cut the percentage of revenue it takes from streaming video apps in an effort to improve its relationship with those in that industry…
After announcing in September that it would begin “removing problematic and abandoned apps” in an effort to clean up the App Store, new data shows Apple is now fulfilling that promise with removals dramatically increasing around 238 percent last month.
The data below from research firm Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch) shows around 47,300 apps were removed in October, around 3.4 times more than the average month for the App Store prior to the new purging initiative.
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Apple has published a developer update aimed at making it easier for developers to share direct links to tvOS apps. Originally when developers wanted to share tvOS apps, they would have to instruct users to manually search through the App Store on the Apple TV. Apple’s update today includes an update to the iTunes Link Maker where tvOS apps can now also be searched for and linked to directly.
Earlier today we noted that Gmail was getting a big update today for iPhone and iPad that introduces an overhauled UI and new features. Not to be left out, Google’s Calendar app for iPhone— still not available for iPad— also gets a few new features today.
The app’s user interface gets a big improvement in the form of a new Month view while your iPhone’s in Portrait mode, and Week view now available while the device is in landscape mode. Take a look:
Also new for Google Calendar for iPhone is support for Spotlight search, which Google notes will allow you to find events, Reminders and Goals stored within the app using iOS’s built-in Spotlight Search function.
For G Suite users, the app will now let you add guests to events and automatically suggest meeting times and rooms. And finally, the updated Calendar app gets support for alternative calendars with today’s update:
Alternate calendars. If you often look up dates in a non-Gregorian calendar — like Lunar, Islamic, or Hindu — you can now add that calendar to easily see those dates alongside your current calendar.
The updated Google Calendar app for iPhone, version 1.6.3, is available on the App Store now.
Earlier today Google released a completely redesigned Gmail for iOS app w/ enhanced search, Undo Send and more.
When you launch an app designed to alert you the moment a crime is reported in your immediate vicinity, you’re asking for trouble if you name it Vigilante, as app developer Sp0n quickly discovered.
The app is designed to allow people to report crimes, and for anyone close by to receive an instant alert. Less than a week after it went live in New York, Apple has pulled it from the App Store …
In addition to the release of new iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS betas, Apple this evening also announced that the Volume Purchase Program is expanding to a handful of new countries.
Up until now, iOS developers have been unable to distribute promo codes for in-app purchases, but Apple is now allowing developers to issue in-app purchase promo codes via iTunes Connect.
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There have been predictions for years that China would eventually be a larger market for Apple than the USA. The weak Chinese economy means that it hasn’t yet happened in hardware, but the latest App Annie data says that it’s already got there on the software side.
The highlight of this report is certainly China overtaking the U.S to become the largest market in the world for iOS App Store revenue — earning over $1.7 billion in Q3 2016. We predicted in Q1 that China’s rapid iOS revenue growth would drive it right past the U.S well before year’s end — China is now leading the U.S by over 15%.
The rapid growth in Chinese spending – a 500% increase in two years – is in line with earlier predictions. The stats also illustrate the importance of games in driving App Store sales …
As it has done in other instances in the past, Apple today announced that it is updating App Store prices in South Africa and New Zealand. It’s good news for users in Africa, however, as prices will go down, while prices will increase in New Zealand.
Update: A source with knowledge of the program advises me that the Catch ’em ad was present only during the beta. The app itself has since been removed from the App Store, which I understand to be for breaching guidelines.
Apple recently started offering developers the opportunity to buy search ads in the App Store, allowing their apps to be shown when users search for particular keywords. Those ads have now started showing up for U.S. users.
Earlier this year, Apple introduced a handful of changes to the App Store, one of which being the inclusion of ads in search results. The capability was included in iOS 10 when it went into beta, but now Apple has officially launched Search Ads and opened them up for any developer to purchase.
Easily one of the summer’s biggest game releases comes courtesy of Square Enix and its latest entry in the long-running Deus Ex franchise. Deus Ex Human Revolution hit consoles to rave reviews back in 2011, making 2016’s Mankind Divided one of the most anticipated sequels of the year. It released on August 23rd for PS4, Xbox One and PC, and now we’ve learned it will soon make its way to Mac…
Previously available on Android only, Google today released its Cardboard Camera app for iPhone and iPad alongside new features for the experience.
Apple has announced that Super Mario is coming to the iPhone, as part of its iPhone 7 event. The company brought Shigeru Minamoto on stage to announce Apple bringing Nintendo’s top franchise to the iPhone.
Get the new Mario game app later this year in December, but you can go to the App Store today and get it to “Notify” you when the app launches. The game will have some free trial content and one in-app purchase to unlock everything.
Apple today posted an update to its App Store review guidelines document for developers. The updated information pertains directly to App Store subscriptions, SiriKit, and iMessage apps including Sticker Packs.
Previously, clarification about what developers could and could not do with regard to the new subscription enhancements announced just prior to WWDC 2016 was a bit ambiguous, but with today’s document update, guidelines become a lot more black and white.
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Apple has just published a list of App Store improvements that will begin to go into effect next Wednesday, September 7th. The changes seek to remove broken and forgotten apps from the App Store, apps that are currently breaking App Store review guidelines, and that are just no longer functional.
During a developer session at WWDC in June, Apple revealed that it would soon make uploading screenshots much easier for developers via iTunes Connect. Now, Apple has posted a new update on its Developer website confirming the change is now rolling out.
Following a launch of its new Gboard keyboard for iPhone back in May, Google today announced it’s making the app available to users and languages internationally while adding some other new features. The app allows users to send GIFs, emojis, Google searches and more and works like all third-party keyboards on iOS via an App Store download.
At WWDC back in June, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased that the company was approaching the $50 billion milestone in money it had paid out to App Store developers. Today, Cook announced on Twitter that Apple has now paid over $50 billion to App Store developers, while also noting that July was a huge month for the platform.
The above concept of how Apple could improve its current iTunes/App Store web view comes from STRV designer Ales Nesetril. It’s not the first time someone has suggested it, but it got me thinking once again about app installs via the web. What is Apple waiting for?
