Apple: adds the same prompt that all developers are using
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New Apple Podcasts Rating Prompt Artificially Boosts App Store Score
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You don't find it weird that all the negative reviews are about the experience of using the app, while the positive ones appear to mostly be reviews of specific shows that would be the same no matter what player was used? You don't think that maybe the user journey here is leading people to believe they're rating a podcast rather than an app?
That's true I skimmed the article, I see now. But I bet even if they sent the prompt in a way that was more clear, it would still raise the rating.
What’s the prompt being used? If it’s the same one that every other app that asks for a rating uses, then Apple isn’t to blame
I'd also love to see the prompt and the context in which it appears. Clearly people believe it's asking them to rate the shows rather than the app, the question is why.
Shady? Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. This is stupid people who don’t understand, and/or can’t be bothered to read, what it is they’re being asked to rate.
Anticompetitive practices at its finest, it’s really about time for laws.
I do not like using the Podcasts app at all. I would listen to more but the interface is terrible. Apple deliberately designed it this way because if one designed it like this it would of been fixed by now. But then again, this is Tim Cook's Apple and marketing and subscriptions are more important. To be expected I guess.
I haven't got around to finding another podcast client yet.
I haven't got around to finding another podcast client yet.
I'll be honest here, apps should never interrupt the user to ask them to rate the app.
No shadiness, this prompt just trigger normale users who enjoy the app to rate. It is a normal thing since the first apps.
Looks like people are upset that their attempts to ratings-bomb the stock apps in the App Store are not as successful as they would have hoped.
I love Apple Podcasts.
It allows me to listening to the biggest library of podcasts, with all the privacy I expect from Apple.
It allows me to listening to the biggest library of podcasts, with all the privacy I expect from Apple.
Its not surprising to me. Twenty years ago when writing user reviews and giving star-ratings was first introduced to the masses by amazon and ebay everyone startet to do it, because it was new.
Nowadays I only write reviews when I am totally unhappy with a product. It's just normal to be happy with a product or service so I don't rate anymore.
That means that negative ratings will always be over-prominent, because satisfied customers don't write so many reviews, but unhappy customers will!
It's totally legit to ask for rating in-app. Because otherwise satisfied customers wouldn't hassle to do it outside of the app.
The ratings should reflect average satisfaction better now.
I use the Podcast app everyday for listening to the news and don't have problems with it.
Nowadays I only write reviews when I am totally unhappy with a product. It's just normal to be happy with a product or service so I don't rate anymore.
That means that negative ratings will always be over-prominent, because satisfied customers don't write so many reviews, but unhappy customers will!
It's totally legit to ask for rating in-app. Because otherwise satisfied customers wouldn't hassle to do it outside of the app.
The ratings should reflect average satisfaction better now.
I use the Podcast app everyday for listening to the news and don't have problems with it.
It actually is that bad though. If you listen to podcasts a lot then do yourself a favor and use something else. Literally any other podcast app will give you a better experience.
The Podcast app is diabolical. Sure it didn't work amazing before, but at least it worked to a basic level. Now... now I feel like they've changed it to make you use more data to make you sign up for iCloud. In saying that, I did sign up for iCloud because hide my email (and PR) is awesome. Well worth the buck a month.
Don't it sync across phone and watch? and is it just like a skin and uses the Podcast app and aggregates your pods in a much better way?Feature, not a bug. I'm shocked it works this way... shocked I tell you!
Ditched Podcasts app for Overcast earlier this year and couldn't be happier. Should've done it waaaaay sooner.
So people are stupid (as always), but people are blaming Apple for using the same rating mechanism that all other apps use? 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
I'm really glad this was picked up on, but this is funny. Really funny. Its like finding the one Amazon product where every review was actually from a different product.
I gave up on this app and now stream my podcasts on Spotify.
Podcast app was frustrating to use and would download shows I didn’t want downloaded.
Podcast app was frustrating to use and would download shows I didn’t want downloaded.
Go away with your clear logic and common sense. Get your pitchfork and stand in line.
The people in this forum (quite a few) are here to complain about Apple, blaming, not using logic and reason.
As far as I can see, there are probably 3 main groups of people in this forum.
1. Apple haters (who like to stir a fight by overly praising Apple, so the 2nd group gets wind up
2. also Apple haters (who try to stir a fight by overly complaining about Apple, and blame everything on them.
3. People with common sense (such as yourself, I call them “unicorns”, as they a rare breed) whom enjoy using Apple products, because they, for one reason or another, like them. These members are usually able to give a constructive criticism, even use another OS for different purposes.
Expecting a rotten tomatoes, landing on my head, any second now
With the launch of iOS 15.1, Apple introduced a new prompt for the Podcasts app that asks customers to rate it, and as it turns out, confusion over what's being rated has led to an artificially inflated App Store rating for the Podcasts app.
Prior to the October 25 launch of iOS 15.1, the Podcasts app had 1.8 stars and plenty of negative reviews from customers unhappy with the design of the app. Now that Apple is asking customers to rate the app, App Store ratings for the Podcast app have shot up to 4.7 stars, a stark difference.
Apple made no major changes to the Podcasts app so customers are not suddenly happier with its design and performance - instead, many people are leaving ratings for the podcasts themselves. As noted by Kosta Eleftheriou and highlighted today by The Verge, many of the reviews are for the podcasts that are available through the Podcasts app, and not for the app's functionality.
The top review in the App Store right now starts out with "Best Podcast Ever!", with the reviewer lauding the podcast they had been listening to at the time the review prompt popped up.
The rest of the reviews are a mix of one star comments about the design of the Podcasts app and positive reviews for podcast content.
With the review prompt, the Podcasts app is receiving thousands of reviews per day, and many of them are positive. Apple confirmed to The Verge that it is using a new prompt, the same one available to all developers. "With iOS 15.1 released last month, Apple Podcasts began prompting listeners to leave a rating and review just like most third-party apps -- using the standard Rating & Review prompt available to all developers," a spokesperson said.
As The Verge points out, Apple is breaking no rules using this prompt that is standard issue in third-party apps, but it's misleading for customers looking for an ideal podcast experience. The Podcasts app is the number one app that comes up when you search for "podcasts" even though unaltered ratings suggest that other podcast apps offer a better user interface.
Looking at the reviews of third-party podcast apps, the majority of the ratings are for the apps themselves, and customers do not seem to be accidentally offering reviews for podcast content as is happening with the Podcasts app. It is not clear if Apple plans to remove its confusing in-app rating prompt for the Podcasts app, but reviews for the Podcasts app certainly should not be trusted.
Customers have been increasingly unhappy with the Podcasts app since iOS 14.5, which is when Apple introduced a design change that brought with it multiple bugs ranging from problems with syncing to an issue causing huge numbers of podcast episodes to be re-downloaded at one time. There were a huge number of complaints, in fact, which led Apple to make some changes in iOS 14.6, but the app has continued to accumulate negative feedback.
Article Link: New Apple Podcasts Rating Prompt Artificially Boosts App Store Score
"but it's misleading for customers"
Why? Without prompting the reviews are skewed towards unhappy customers who will go out of their way to review. If anything this is probably more representative.
If you think 4.6 stars is more representative of the Podcasts app than 1.8 you’ve clearly never used it.