App Store Search Results to Show More Ads Next Year, Says Apple

[MacRumors]

Apple will next year introduce more ads in the App Store "to increase opportunity" in search results, the company has announced.

According to an update to Apple's Ads website, additional ads will appear across search queries, appearing at the top as well as further down in App Store results, and existing campaigns won't need to do anything to be eligible.

Search is the way most people find and download apps on the App Store, with nearly 65 percent of downloads happening directly after a search. To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries. You don't need to change your campaign in order to be eligible for any new positions. Your ad will run in either the existing position — at the top of search results — or further down in search results. If you have a search results campaign running, your ad will be automatically eligible for all available positions, but you can't select or bid for a particular one.

Apple explains that the ad format will remain the same – a default or custom product page, and an optional deep link. Advertisers and developers won't see a change in their billing, which will remain based on Apple's cost-per-tap model, so developers only pay when a user taps on an ad. Apple displays ads based on a combination of bid amount and an app's relevance to the search query, with ad matching done automatically.

The new App Store ads will appear on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from the beginning of 2026. For further details, check out Apple's Ads website.

(Via 9to5Mac.)

Article Link: App Store Search Results to Show More Ads Next Year, Says Apple

 

[t122648]

Ah, another incentive to not move off IOS 18.....

 

[kotaKat]

How about fixing Today discovery? I'm sick of the same carousel of the same apps over and over.

Today is Honkai Star Rail. What's next tomorrow: Roblox, Royal Match, TikTok, or a dating app?

The Tomorrow Edit: Wellp, today is Tinder. I was right, again.

 

[Quasselstripper]

I don’t think that’s a very smart idea from Apple.

You can really feel that this is a financially driven decision and is not trying to help improve the App Store experience at all.

They are already so many scam apps with weekly subscriptions that I am super tired of opening the App Store.


Where is the Apple that is trying to build great products for end users and not great products to increase shareholder value for themselves and for VC funded startups?

 

[Woyzeck]

******tification, full steam ahead !

 

[M67]

Must be hard times for Apple when they need to advertise to their own customers in order to make a few extra pennies.

 

[attila]

Yeah because the App Store search was just so good before...

 

[iZac]

I like that MacRumours posted this immediately after a post about alternative App Stores in Japan.

The grass really is greener on the other side.

 

[aries81]

next up: paid subscription based adfree App Store.

 

[AngstyKylo]

They really know nobody is dropping their iPhone for anything else, regardless of what they do 😅

 

[foobarbaz]

Must be hard times for Apple when they need to advertise to their own customers in order to make a few extra pennies.

Apple is doing exceptionally well. But it's often the rich that are the worst penny-pinchers.

 

[maflynn]

Apple is down to its last 4 trillion dollars, they needed to do something quick or they're doomed.

think about how much that is, 1 trillion dollars laid end to end, is further then the earth is to sun, basically Apple has so much money that the dollar bills would go from earth to the sun 4 times. It takes light 8 minutes to get from the sun to earth - that's how far it is

Yet they want to increase their ads?

I guess they have to pay Tim Cooks compensation of 12 74 million dollars some how

 

[randomgeeza]

******tification, full steam ahead !

The current direction travel is going to be Apple's downfall... 4Trillion or not.

 

[MilaM]

It's sad to see, how the business models of Apple and Google are slowly converging.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Yeah because the App Store search was just so good before...

What problems do you have with it? When you search for a specific app does it not come up for you?

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

One can’t get rid of Tim Cook soon enough, hopefully his final act of trying to nickel and dime the users..

 

[loekf]

Apple will next year introduce more ads in the App Store "to increase opportunity" in search results, the company has announced.

According to an update to Apple's Ads website, additional ads will appear across search queries, appearing at the top as well as further down in App Store results, and existing campaigns won't need to do anything to be eligible.
Apple explains that the ad format will remain the same – a default or custom product page, and an optional deep link. Advertisers and developers won't see a change in their billing, which will remain based on Apple's cost-per-tap model, so developers only pay when a user taps on an ad. Apple displays ads based on a combination of bid amount and an app's relevance to the search query, with ad matching done automatically.

The new App Store ads will appear on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from the beginning of 2026. For further details, check out Apple's Ads website.

(Via 9to5Mac.)

Article Link: App Store Search Results to Show More Ads Next Year, Says Apple

Just FO Tim Cook with your ads.

 

[Lyrics23]

This is why having alternative app stores is so important. They introduce competition.

Apple will continue adding more and more ads over the coming years because they’ve got literally no incentive not to. Their users have no choice but to put up with them.

 

[TumbleDryer]

I haven't used the App Store in years its just full of **** and a horrible user experience.

 

[Taq'aix]

I don’t think that’s a very smart idea from Apple.

You can really feel that this is a financially driven decision and is not trying to help improve the App Store experience at all.

They are already so many scam apps with weekly subscriptions that I am super tired of opening the App Store.


Where is the Apple that is trying to build great products for end users and not great products to increase shareholder value for themselves and for VC funded startups?

Enter ad-less alternative App Stores… 🏆✌️

 

[MilaM]

What problems do you have with it? When you search for a specific app does it not come up for you?

It does come up, along with countless copy cat apps that try to scam you.

 

[zoozx]

More reasons to stay off the site, and away from Apple.

 

[Ta_whirimatea]

Another notch on the post for me to move from apple. (I’m sure other available app stores are / will be just as bad)!. I can’t remember the last time (+2 years) I bought an app from the Apple Store, increased ads will certainly stop me that’s for sure, it’s already horrible experience.

I surf on duck duck browser that blocks almost every ad thankfully. I don’t touch social media at all because of the volume of useless irrelevant adverts nowadays. I don’t watch tv because of useless irrelevant adverts. Netflix I do (barely once a week tbh) on a no ad subscription.
I haven’t used my Mac mini in probably 2-3 months.

I find just about every media source / outlet means now is riddled with adverts demanding to view all your browser history etc. Ad companies (google, meta, apple) don’t care about the user experience nowadays.
The mental effect modern technology is having on people nowadays is horrendous. The sweet spot of mobile phones & browsing is long gone. Life was better pre advertising greed days.

 

[Big_D]

99% of the time when I search, I search for a specific app. Even if I enter the 100% correct name, 95% of the time, the app I specifically want is not the first app listed...

I ca understand putting in ads, if I search for "dating app", or "platform game" or something, but if I specifically enter, "Microsoft Teams", then I definitely want Microsoft Teams, not Google Meet or Zoom, for example.

I'm fine with ads for generic searches, but when I'm looking for a specific app with a 100% name match, that should always be the first app that is listed.

 

[Populus]

C’mon Apple, just show me what I’m searching for on your App Store, not what those who pay more want to sell.

99% of the time when I search, I search for a specific app. Even if I enter the 100% correct name, 95% of the time, the app I specifically want is not the first app listed...

Exactly my experience. I’ve even written to some devs to warn them about what was happening. In the case of apps without subscription (the ones I usually purchase), this gets quite accentuated, with their app appearing buried under a pile of subscription-based apps…