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2,111 'App Store' stories December 2010 - June 2017
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Angry Birds Evolution turn-based RPG combat game for adults now available [Video]

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jun 14 2017 - 3:10 pm PT
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After a soft launch previously, Angry Birds Evolution, a new turn-based RPG combat game from Rovio, is officially launching in the U.S. and globally today.

The game is the latest in the popular Angry Birds franchise and, in addition to introducing a new type of gameplay for the birds, is the first title for the game made specifically for adults. As Rovio notes, that means “naughty humor, pop culture references galore and classic turn-based RPG combat.”


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Sony’s new ‘PlayLink’ multiplayer games will use iPhones as second-screen controllers for PS4

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jun 13 2017 - 9:21 am PT
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As part of E3, Sony today announced it will launch a new collection of games branded “PlayLink” that will support cross-platform gameplay experiences between PS4 and mobile devices including iOS devices. The games will be built with a second screen experience and group play in mind, meaning they’ll take full advantage of opportunities for touchscreen controls, cameras on mobile devices, multiple devices and more.

The games will work together with iPhones (and possibly iPads) via a companion app that Sony confirmed will be available for both iOS and Android. For the most part, the games appear to use mobile devices as controllers, offering a second screen experience while playing games with others on a PS4 in the living room:


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Comment: Apple needs to clamp down on App Store abuse hard and fast

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jun 12 2017 - 7:28 am PT
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A quite stunning story came to light over the weekend of a scam app charging people a staggering $400 per month through an in-app purchase disguised as a free trial – for an app that does nothing in the first place.

Taking advantage of App Store search ads to achieve visibility, the app claims to be a virus and malware scanner, and for anyone naive enough to install it presents a dialog box offering a ‘free trial’ that actually charges them $99.99 for a 7-day subscription …


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Winners of the 2017 Apple Design Awards have been announced

Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Jun 7 2017 - 12:58 pm PT
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This year’s Apple Design Award winners have been announced. The awards, which have now occurred in some form for over 20 years, are announced each year at WWDC.

Past winners have included such excellent releases as Affinity Designer, Ulysses, and Monument Valley. This year’s awards, which include titles featured on iOS, watchOS, and macOS, continue the tradition of excellence.
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Apple continues roll-out of local currency pricing in App Store with nine more countries

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 25 2017 - 5:33 am PT
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Apple has been gradually switching its international app store pricing from US dollars or Euros to local currencies, doing so in eight countries at the end of last year. It told developers last week that it would be doing the same thing in a further nine countries ‘within 7-10 days,’ and these changes have now taken effect …


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The average smartphone user spends 2h 15m a day using apps – how about you? [Poll]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 5 2017 - 7:17 am PT
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Data from App Annie shows that the average smartphone owner spends 2 hours and 15 minutes a day using apps – the equivalent of one month a year. The average person has 60-90 apps installed on their phone, using around 30 of them each month and launching 9 per day.

Utilities and Tools led the way thanks to numerous pre-installed apps, such as Safari on iOS and Google on Android. After pre-installed apps, some of the largest categories by average apps used are Social Networking, Communication, and Social. This underscores the continued importance of social categories to marketing efforts for all types of apps.

The time spent using apps varied dramatically depending on the type of app …


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As Apple touts job creation, former software engineer says it’s at the expense of small developers

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 4 2017 - 5:30 am PT
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As Apple boasts of creating two million U.S. jobs, it has been accused of making life as a small developer unsustainable.

The claim was made by Matt Gemmell, a software engineer who used to work for Apple as a contractor and whose source code has been used in hundreds of iOS and macOS apps.

No company has done as much damage to the perceived value of software, and the sustainability of being an independent developer, as Apple …


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Following App Store price increases in Europe, Apple introducing more flexible pricing [Confirmed]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy May 2 2017 - 5:47 am PT
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Update: The alternative pricing tiers, which are available to all countries which use the Euro, are confirmed in an Apple document.

Following Apple’s decision to increase the prices of App Store prices in Europe, Italian site iSpazio reports that the company appears to be allowing developers the option of more flexible pricing. Instead of having to choose one of the standard tiers, they would be free to select alternatives – including a starting-point of €0.49 …


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Apple lowers app affiliate commission rate from 7% to 2.5% globally

Avatar for Greg Barbosa Apr 24 2017 - 10:30 am PT
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Apple today has sent out an email update to members of its affiliate program about launching improvements to the iTunes Affiliate Resource pages and also a change to the commission rates.

Apple is lowering affiliate payouts from apps and their in-app purchases to less than half of the original commission rate. For many, this means a negative impact to yet another revenue stream.


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China summons Apple to meeting to ‘tighten checks’ on live-streaming apps

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Apr 19 2017 - 7:16 am PT
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Three months after the Chinese government forced Apple to remove the New York Times apps from the Chinese version of the App Store, it seems the government is now unhappy with some of the live streaming apps available. Reuters reports that a government agency plans to ‘summon Apple’ to a meeting to demand restrictions.

Internet regulators in China’s capital plan to summon Apple to urge the American firm to tighten its checks on software applications available in its Apple Store, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

It also appears that this won’t be the first time government agencies have raised the topic of live streaming apps with Apple …


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Apple again pulls drone strike tracking app after unexpected App Store approval

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 28 2017 - 2:44 pm PT
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Over a year ago, Apple removed an app called Metadata+ from the App Store. The app sent iPhone users alerts when a United States drone strike led to death. Apple’s reasoning at the time was that the app contained “content that many users would find objectionable.”

Fast forward to this week and Metadata+ is again in the news for being approved and removed, all in the span of less than 12 hours…


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