App Store

As part of its redesigned App Store with a focus on curation and editorial content, this evening has launched a new “This Weekend Only” weekly promotion. This will offer discounts on things such as apparel, travel, food, and other categories. Apple is kicking it off with five stellar offerings from HotelTonight, Chipotle, and more.

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Apple is introducing a new App Store pricing feature for developers starting with iOS 11.2. Apps that use auto-renewable subscription pricing will soon be able to offer special introductory pricing for new customers.

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New data is out today from Apptopia on how iOS 11‘s App Store and its new app of the day and game of the day features are influencing downloads. With an app of the day feature, the company found a boost in downloads of up to 2,172%, while games saw an increase of up to 963%.

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Facebook is introducing a new way for publishers to monetize content using its Instant Articles format, but the feature won’t be coming to iOS anytime soon according to Recode. That’s because the service will require a paid subscription, and Apple wants its usual cut for revenue generated through the App Store.

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We learned earlier this year that the average smartphone user spends 2h 15m a day using apps, and new data suggests that more of this time than ever is spent using shopping apps.

App Annie data shows that time spent in digital-first retailer apps like Amazon increased by 44% year-on-year in the first half of 2017 …

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Apple has today announced that it is removing the Catalogs category, as well as the Educational and Dice subcategory (under Games) from the App Store.

Apple has sent out emails to developers who are affected by this change, those that have apps currently listed under the Catalogs category or Dice subcategory.

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Following the release of iOS 11 to the public yesterday, Apple has shared a new series of videos on YouTube that highlight the all-new App Store design. The four videos all highlight new features and capabilities of the iOS 11 App Store.

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Apple has updated its developer app review guidelines for the iPhone and iPad App Store this week with new clauses addressing the appropriate usage of Face ID, ARKit and more.

Apple says that ARKit apps must provide a rich experience; they don’t want the store flooded with simple apps displaying single objects. There are also limits on how developers can use Face ID and a new crackdown on scammy iOS apps like so-called virus scanners …

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Update: CNBC reports that Chinese regulators are now examining the complaint. No formal investigation has been opened at this stage, however.

To be clear, the Chinese regulators are not formally investigating Apple over any breach of antitrust laws. Instead, the SAIC is only reviewing the complaint. Following their review, the regulators may choose to start an investigation.

Apple has been reported to Chinese antitrust regulators by a group of 28 app developers, accusing it of monopolistic behavior.

The WSJ reports that the developers make three specific complaints …

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Apple and Google have removed hundreds of financial trading apps from their app stores following an investigation suggesting that thousands of people may have been scammed – many of them seniors. Some have reportedly lost their entire life savings.

The action follows an investigation by a newspaper and a review by a securities & investment body …

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At the Postback conference last week in Seattle, Apple’s vice president of advertising Todd Teresi sat down with TUNE to discuss the company’s continued efforts in analytics and and mobile measurement. Teresi discussed how Apple plans to continue working with developers to improve metrics in the App Store, and more.

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Update: When reached for clarification, Apple said “This is not a new guideline. We have never allowed apps on the App Store that are designed to interfere with the performance or capabilities of other apps.” It also said it would remove other apps that offer features that block advertising in third-party apps if they “may have snuck on to the App Store.”  Apple added, “We have always supported advertising as one of the many ways that developers can make money with apps.”

Apple has seemingly recently shifted its policy regarding adblock apps on the App Store. The company, according to the developer of several major adblock apps that reached out to 9to5Mac after its app updates were rejected, has reversed its policy on VPN-based adblock applications, which install certificates on the device itself to block advertisements both in Safari and in other third-party applications.

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A report earlier this week detailed Apple’s efforts to remove spam and copy-cat apps from the App Store, and one area the company specifically seems to be targeting is China. As noted in a new report from People.cn, Apple has removed around 58,000 Chinese apps from the App Store over the last two weeks, a drastic increase compared to normal.

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Apple has made it clear recently that it is doing a lot to improve the overall quality of the App Store and a new report from TechCrunch dives deeper into Apple’s efforts. The report explains that Apple this year is putting a heavy focus on clone and spam applications…

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