Apple Expands Crackdown on App Discovery Apps

[designgeek]

As well as poor app discovery, does anyone else find the AppStore to be horrendously slow at loading? It is on my 4s anyway.

It's murder on my 5, wouldn't you think they'd have it load quickly? I mean seriously Apple, I don't use the app store. The only apps I download are recommended from other sources like twitter or the verge or a friend. Furthermore, their categories are a joke at best, it needs much better organization.

 

[lexvo]

How about making a decent App-store app, instead of banning out people who try to make it easier for us.. Search is still terrible in the app-store and you're punishing these developers for it, gg Apple.

Yes, and it is slow to boot.

 

[Serelus]

App store is decent enough. Literally, prior to Apple buying Chomp, we needed App discovery app just to find the right app. Now, it's kind of useless to own an discovery app, since App Store is clean enough that searching for app is really easy.

Not to mention, app discovery app is spam anyway.

No it's not, the App-store app search simply isn't sufficient at finding "good" or "top rated" apps. All there is are recommeded Apps and: "here look at all the apps advertisers paid us to show you!" The same damn games are always toprated barely giving room for any other apps to be found easily.

You haven't been using the app-store actively if you think the experience is decent. I am just hoping this is in preparation of iOS 7 and they are planning on coming with a rebuilt version of the appstore.

 

[stephenpperry]

Wider Implications

I think it may be worth considering the wider implications of such strict rule enforcement.

I.e it could be a major indication of the face that iOS 7 has a redesigned app store with new focus on content discovery.

 

[Oletros]

The main reason for existence of all such apps is to game App Store rankings (aka fraud). It's is surprising Apple did not do anything about this earlier!

Even if their main reason is gaming App Store rankings, can you tell us how is this a fraud?

 

[JGRE]

How about making a decent App-store app, instead of banning out people who try to make it easier for us.. Search is still terrible in the app-store and you're punishing these developers for it, gg Apple.

Shame om Apple to bann apps that are doing the job Apple was supposed to do. The App store is a mess and only promoting Apple products. Which Apple user cares on what place OSX is standing in the sales numbers as we have it anyways??? The App store is just horrible.

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As well as poor app discovery, does anyone else find the AppStore to be horrendously slow at loading? It is on my 4s anyway.

The App store is just an absolute mess, showing you Apple products and lame games nobody cares about. Also the rating per app seems not all trustworthy. Sometimes an apps has 3 stars or more while the review are all negative (Wtf).

 

[Menneisyys2]

The App store is just an absolute mess, showing you Apple products and lame games nobody cares about. Also the rating per app seems not all trustworthy. Sometimes an apps has 3 stars or more while the review are all negative (Wtf).

Prolly because only people that found the app useless bothered to write a review?

BTW, I think users reviews in the AppStore shouldn't be read at all, particularly with specialized programs like media players. Average users just don't have sufficient knowledge to properly assess the capabilities of, say, a video player.

 

[litmag01]

eff Apple sometimes man.

seriously, do they think consumers are THAT dumb?

maybe its time to grab an HTC one

If you prefer that UX, you should get an HTC. It may work better for you.

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I think it may be worth considering the wider implications of such strict rule enforcement.

I.e it could be a major indication of the face that iOS 7 has a redesigned app store with new focus on content discovery.

Good point!

 

[malexandria]

Business 101

never build a business around someone else's API

 

[prowlmedia]

It surprises me how many of you don't have an Android phone, yet.

Seriously, grow up. We have what we want.

Why aren't you Driving the same car as me? It's definitely better than yours
Why don't you have the same TV? Mines 47" with an ambilight.
Why don't you you have the same Food mixer. It's british.
Why don't you use linux. It's free.

It's a stupid and pointless comment to make.

 

[samcraig]

I am not saying Apple doesn't care about it developers. But the way the App Store currently works is that it tends (not always) to make the successful apps MORE successful and everything else gets lost. So if you're lucky/skilled enough to crack into one of their lists - there's a good chance you'll stay there - and for awhile. I would bet the revenue skew is pretty interesting and that a few dozen apps with 80% (making this up) of the revenue and the rest sharing the other 20%. Maybe I'm wrong. But if I'm not - Apple has a couple handfuls of really strong developer "advocates" for how great the app store is championing the program for other devs.

But maybe everything I wrote is complete crap conjecture. Either way - the thing that makes the most sense is that Apple will be launching an app or service that does the same thing as these apps and they are cleaning house now to make room/increase demand.

It wouldn't be the first time. IE - Camera+ and using hardware as a shutter button comes to mind...

 

[Winni]

It surprises me how many of you don't have an Android phone, yet.

Yep. We just received a bunch of new company phones and everybody could choose between Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone (both were free). Everybody in the technical department chose Samsung and one colleague paid for the HTC One out of his own wallet.

 

[Rogifan]

Prolly because only people that found the app useless bothered to write a review?

BTW, I think users reviews in the AppStore shouldn't be read at all, particularly with specialized programs like media players. Average users just don't have sufficient knowledge to properly assess the capabilities of, say, a video player.

So only tech snobs should be able to write reviews?

 

[PhGodinho]

Apple application review is a mess, past week I sent an app and it got reject, the explanation was that the app was not working under some devices. I re-uploaded the SAME app, with no modifications and it's on the store right now. You must have luck to get a reviewer that know what he is doing.

 

[bbeagle]

Yep. We just received a bunch of new company phones and everybody could choose between Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone (both were free). Everybody in the technical department chose Samsung and one colleague paid for the HTC One out of his own wallet.

Exact opposite at my work place. Practically everyone technical uses an iPhone. Everyone I know who doesn't have a smart phone wants an iPhone. I rarely hear anyone talk about Android - except for the ONE Android zealot, constantly trying to get people to convert, with no avail.

It's funny how people think that their little world of less than 100 people matches how the entire world feels. I know my world isn't normal either, just as yours isn't. Android and iOS are pretty even, but our worlds don't show that, but combined, they do.

 

[oneMadRssn]

This entire story is about ONE new app being rejected, for reasons we don't know.

The rest seems to bloggers "confiriming" each other to make this sound like a proven "big deal."

Meanwhile, there are tons of apps like this that ARE on the store, including AppsFire which recently had an update approved, and AppShopper which was recently accepted as a new app.

People are getting angry because Apple MIGHT have expanded their restrictions... But the evidence so far as thin.

And re the specific apps that are rejected--while others are being accepted--are we sure they are shining knights of goodness, with apps we truly crave? I like AppShopper a lot, but AppGratis sounds pretty shady with their push-notification ads. There has to be a line--not to benefit vocal developers nor even Apple (directly) but to benefit we Apple customers.

If the rules have changed in some terrible way, let's see more evidence and less vague FUD.

Hey, a voice of reason and logic! I thank you sir.

 

[Judas1]

Easy. Some App Store customers are sheep. 1% is perhaps millions. They actually respond to paid placement spam reviews and notifications that these "discovery" apps sometimes spew. Apple would prefer that developers pay to improve their apps instead of to play games to boost downloads from sheep. Apple protects its sheep.

How are they sheeps when they are the one that installed the app because they wanted suggestions on apps. You make no sense.

 

[iFitzgerald]

Does this mean that apps like FreeMyApps, FeaturePoints and FreeAppSlots might get removed from the app store as well?

 

[macman34]

99.9% of iOS users have probably never heard of apps like app gratis. Much ado about nothing, except for sites like this which have nothing to talk about until WWDC.

And you pulled those stats from where exactly? Don't say it, if it's what I have in mind, because it's against forum rules. And please don't play the blame the messenger (in this case mr) game.

Quite a lot of users are very well aware of apps about other apps, be it review apps, bargain prices apps etc. And what's motivated them to download them was the poor set up of the app store for finding apps. I know one of the first folders I ever made on my iphone was one called apps, where I had apps with free, and reduced price apps and apps reviewing app categories and making suggestions, etc. And that was way back when I had an iphone a few years ago before my switching over to a dumb phone and getting my actual non virtual life back and my attention back to the world outside as opposed to it being on my friggin phone. (but that's another story).

Like I said in my previous post apple, in yet another patently dumb move from John Sculley, sorry, Tim Cook, is managing to alienate a. developpers, b. users, and c. anger anti competition legislators with this move (the trifecta), while d. not yet getting it together to offer a better experience for finding apps in their app store.

 

[sundog925]

If you prefer that UX, you should get an HTC. It may work better for you.

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Good point!

no, it wont.

im stating a fact that open really does mean open.

 

[DaffyDuck]

It surprises me how many of you don't have an Android phone, yet.

I do. Switched recently.

 

[firewood]

How are they sheeps when they are the one that installed the app because they wanted suggestions on apps. You make no sense.

That's just what the sheep dog wants the sheep to think.

But if you want to blindly follow suggestions from dogs... (or from paid advertisers...) Go baaaaa....