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Apple to Clean Up App Store, Eliminate Outdated and Non-Functional Apps

Not sure anybody posted about this earlier, but at around noon today, the 50-character app title limit became active in the search algorithm ... basically, Apple truncated app names to 50 characters.
 
ComicSansHaha said:
Yeah, I've worked on apps where people still use older iPhones or iPads for e.g. book reading apps. You don't need the latest and greatest hardware to read books. That's why people still use old devices and old versions of apps. What Apple needs to do is allow you to search for apps that only support the iOS version you are running. e.g. fix their search 🙂
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Yep - I am still using my iPad 2. Why? Because Apple hasn't added a single feature that makes me say, I need that.
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v2oxviesta said:
If I were Eddie, I would set the cutoff at 6/6 Plus support. If you still haven't gotten that down by now you don't deserve to be in the app store
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Screw that, I'm still on a 5 - nothing was added since then that justifies replacing it.
 
Bring out your dead ... not dead yet.

I'll be glad to see them go. The walled garden I prefer has far too many weeds. Bring on the Apple RoundUp!
 
People don't seem to realize that it's very annoying and time consuming to have to update an app simply because a new version of iOS was released. It's pretty ridiculous to expect a developer to update an app every year for that reason alone. In the beginning iOS development was fun, there were only one or two screen sizes you had to deal with. But now there are multiple screen sizes and multiple resolutions for image files (@2x @3x), fragmentation is just as bad on iOS as it is on Android, if not worse.
 
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alexN350z said:
Should charge developers $99 per app/year even for free apps, then they will rethink app quality instead of quantity.
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They already do that. I wish they charged $99 per app to publish. That would remove so much reskinned junk. There are companies that have 1000s of the same apps just reskinned and with different keywords hoping to make a few cents a day on each. This is where the real clutter comes from.
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Cosmosent said:
Not sure anybody posted about this earlier, but at around noon today, the 50-character app title limit became active in the search algorithm ... basically, Apple truncated app names to 50 characters.
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Wow that is soooo awesome I actually suggested just this years ago on these forums. Glad to see they might be keeping an eye out!
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nextuser said:
People don't seem to realize that it's very annoying and time consuming to have to update an app simply because a new version of iOS was released. It's pretty ridiculous to expect a developer to update an app every year for that reason alone. In the beginning iOS development was fun, there were only one or two screen sizes you had to deal with. But now there are multiple screen sizes and multiple resolutions for image files (@2x @3x), fragmentation is just as bad on iOS as it is on Android, if not worse.
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If you write your app correctly new iOS versions shouldn't break anything atleast for a few versions. As for the fragmentation I agree let's hope they atleast remove support for 3.5 inch screens. Everything else scales up fine from 4inch.
 
Man, I hope that this initiative is a universal thing(meaning also the Mac App Store) (excuse me beforehand if I have not paid attention)

A suggestion from Apple within macOS Sierra and current El Capitan could mean that apps that exist as a download still on the Mac App Store would be removed and a notification saying "Would you like to keep "application name" It is no longer being updated and is a potential security risk"

A scouring of your personal Mac App Store downloads list and already installed apps would be needed.

Also, fix search please. It's quite weird that searching the App Store in my locale (danish) on iOS' App Store gives suggestions but the Mac App Store gives no suggestions. I'd like to see improvement in this area. A minor thing but would be great to see a makeover of sorts that actively deletes those pesky Mavericks and earlier Mac Apps that just sits there. Mavericks is on its way off the radar if history is any indication. Apple slowly moves older OS X versions off their supported list.
 
dwman said:
If an app hasn't been updated for a year, it needs to go. That would clear out a sh*t ton of useless crap.
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If an app works as designed but has not been updated for a year, lets say a calculator app then there is no reason for it to be removed.
 
v2oxviesta said:
If I were Eddie, I would set the cutoff at 6/6 Plus support. If you still haven't gotten that down by now you don't deserve to be in the app store
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It's not Eddy, but Phil's responsibility.
Since 9 months, he hasn't done anything other than introducing "Sponsored search results".
He'd better start from scratch to clean up this terrible, unmaintained mess.
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SMIDG3T said:
Search works fine.
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How in the world can't you devise a search system for 2 million records that doesn't allow queries for system version, author, subject, screen size, 32/64 bit ??
(but hey, there were busy getting a Twitter account...)
 
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alexmarchuk said:
They could either be recycled for raw materials, depending on the contents. If they are still functional then they may go to third world markets, by now those devices can be "rooted" aka jailbroken and able to run cracked software. The means of an official marketplace for apps is not in the question, I assure you that.
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I used an iPhone 3GS as an iPod for years. Works absolutely fine to play music and audiobooks. There are basically no apps available anymore; that's mostly because at some point developers stop supporting devices, _and as a developer, you can't leave an old version on the store together with a new one_. Would be nice if say an iPhone 4 owner was shown the last version that runs on an iPhone 4, and probably will run on that phone forever, while owners of newer phones will be shown the newer version.

4jasontv said:
Do you know hard it is to train some teachers to use tech like that? Those apps need less updates. I don't care if it's just a pallet swap or a resolution update it cost the school to reteach how to use it. More to change platforms if we can't download the app to new devices.
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Absolutely true, one button moved and some people need major retraining.
 
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ComicSansHaha said:
or maybe the developer is busy writing so many other apps, he or she can't get to their own? Stop complaining. You probably know nothing about software development.
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BS. If a developer cannot update, or hasn't updated an app for years he is not a proper developer. Maybe you know nothing about software development.
 
spinedoc77 said:
Wow that's half the app store. No seriously, any app that is not updated within the last 1 year should be automatically removed. I'm so sick of old apps that don't function well with OS changes.
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But ones that function perfectly well with OS changes should be kept, even if they haven't been updated.
 
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Bacillus said:
It's not Eddy, but Phil's responsibility.
Since 9 months, he hasn't done anything other than introducing "Sponsored search results".
He'd better start from scratch to clean up this terrible, unmaintained mess.
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How in the world can't you devise a search system for 2 million records that doesn't allow queries for system version, author, subject, screen size, 32/64 bit ??
(but hey, there were busy getting a Twitter account...)
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Ha. Off all the times I've searched I've found the app I wanted.

Again, nothing wrong with it.

Oh and their Twitter account was created five years ago, it was just hidden. Get your facts right.
 
crashoverride77 said:
BS. If a developer cannot update, or hasn't updated an app for years he is not a proper developer. Maybe you know nothing about software development.
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Regardless, If an app developer is paying their dues for their "paid" app to be on the store, it should remain so. Unless Apple sends notices to such developers to improve or something of the like. It's not an easy process. It has to be proactive.
 
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dwman said:
If an app hasn't been updated for a year, it needs to go. That would clear out a sh*t ton of useless crap.
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That's too crude a timeframe. If we applied that to Apple's product line we'd have empty stores. Maybe older than three years is more reasonable.
 
After Apple eliminates them are they going to lower their App number from 2 million apps to 1 million apps available? I don't think so.
 
I'm guilty of this and i'm glad Apple are about to do something about it as it'll force me to actually do something about my old apps.
 
I'm all for eliminate outdated stuff on the Appstore, but only if they also do the same in the Apple Store
 
SMIDG3T said:
Good. Apps that haven't been updated in years should no longer be on the App Store. It's obvious the developer doesn't care about the app anymore.
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I am still using an app daily that hasn't been updated since 2010. It still provides the same functionality as it did back then. I almost certainly could find a current app with the same functionality, but transferring the data from the old to the new app would be very difficult.
 
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Kajje said:
I'm all for eliminate outdated stuff on the Appstore, but only if they also do the same in the Apple Store
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Are you referring to the Mac Pro? And the Mac Mini? And the Macbook Air? And the Macbook Pro? If so, then I would agree with you
 
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