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New Apple Podcasts Rating Prompt Artificially Boosts App Store Score
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The Music app is not any better. If they have them separate and still can't make them work properly, a combination will only increase complexity and lower the quality even more.
So because there will always be at least one misunderstanding, we shouldn’t try to mitigate any of them?
This is totally user’s faults. Apple started prompting users to review their app because they genuinely want people to give them feedback on it. I doubt they expected users to use it to rate actual podcasts.
Maybe let’s just skip ratings without reviews completely going forward. And reviews should only be allowed to be published after a human read them and figured out wether or not the reviewer knew what they were doing.
The Music app is also garbage.
The music app removed support for playlists so they could sell it back to you for a monthly subscription.
So the functionality still exists, but is paywalled. With the Podcasts app the functionality is just killed off entirely.
So what’s worse; the blatant profiteering of the Music app, or the immense incompetence of the Podcasts app?
In other words, is deliberate evil better or worse than mindless evil?
I sometimes get upset when I read comments such as this one. I also used to be quite naive as a child, it's good that things have changed.
Is that just a bunch of yada-yada?
Or will you be voting with your wallet purchasing competing products from other manufacturers, to send a real message to Apple?
I honestly don’t understand why people always claim that other podcast apps are so much better. I got caught up in the hype too and tried several others, but honestly, they’re not better. Some are basically the same, and a few have gimmicky ways to manage podcasts that seem good initially but annoying over time.
Honestly don’t get so worked up over the podcasts app. Just subscribe to some stuff and listen to it when you feel like it. It does the job basically the same as any other podcast app.
And yea, I do feel like all of them should be a bit better. A bit clearer; quicker to manage downloaded/watched episodes and your library. But honestly they’re all roughly equally mediocre.
Honestly don’t get so worked up over the podcasts app. Just subscribe to some stuff and listen to it when you feel like it. It does the job basically the same as any other podcast app.
And yea, I do feel like all of them should be a bit better. A bit clearer; quicker to manage downloaded/watched episodes and your library. But honestly they’re all roughly equally mediocre.
I use it frequently and have had absolutely no issues. It plays podcasts. Some may not like it, but others may. If you don’t like it, it’s just not for you — don’t pretend you’re the arbiter of mobile app quality. Find something you like. Don’t get worked up over an app.
It does all I need from a podcast app so I use it. Are there better apps? Probably. If it didn't do what I needed it to do, I'd happily change to another app. Would seriously love to hear what the other apps do that it doesn't.
I only play podcasts on my iMac while working or with Carplay, so maybe my needs are not very demanding.
I only play podcasts on my iMac while working or with Carplay, so maybe my needs are not very demanding.
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A fan boy post if ever there were one.
Why do you think Apple started offering ratings on their own apps? Do you think it was out of the goodness of their heart? Because they have "courage" to hear user feedback? (The company that removed reviews from apple.com apple?).
It doesn't strike you odd that they enabled that when they started getting antitrust mud tossed at them for prioritizing their own apps above others and ripping off developers apps with Apple versions? Because that would be the why.
I love Apple products but not their corporate BS they do. The "You're holding it wrong" company.... is not doing this because they want to, just like they aren't doing self-repair because they want to or adjusted app store commissions and rules because they want to....
When Apple does something because it's the right thing to do without a political gun to their head, then let's pat them on the back and give them an atta boy.
Kind of a big difference. I never get a "rate us" pop up in the middle of playing a game or interacting with content or something substantial. I always get them when I log in or return to a home screen.
Apple is popping up in the middle of content interactions. Never before has there been this type of confusion if you were rating the content or the app because NO ONE ELSE pops these up in this place.
It's kind of the difference between giving a lit match when they aren't holding gasoline in their hand and when they are. Maybe a bad analogy but other developers aren't throwing matches in that moment and Apple is.
As a species, humans are particularly susceptible to calls to action. That's why marketers put them everywhere they can - they work.
I agree with the sentiment of your post, it's just that a lot of what you say hinges on knowing Apple's true motivations but we don't actually have any access to them.
So we can sit here and say "imo, it's obvious that Apple is doing this because X-Y-Z reasons". But we can't actually know if we are right or not.
That’s where you need a “-1 overrated” and “+1 underrated” vote like slashdot used to have.
How is the sketchy? They're simply using the "rate my app" functionality that's available to all developers. You get more, and perhaps better, reviews if you ask more people. The only people who take the time to go rate an app unsolicited are the people who are unhappy with it. The people who are happy or just neutral about it won't take the time to go rate the app -- that is unless they're asked and given a convenient way to do so.
As far as the reviews themselves go. That's just because the majority of people are stupid and can't differentiate content from functionality... and in their defense (sort of), the rating prompt doesn't tell you to make any distinction.
As far as the reviews themselves go. That's just because the majority of people are stupid and can't differentiate content from functionality... and in their defense (sort of), the rating prompt doesn't tell you to make any distinction.
I can't believe that so many people though they were reviewing a specific podcast 🤦♂️
I use iCatcher for my podcasts. Way better and much more customizable.
I use iCatcher for my podcasts. Way better and much more customizable.
Whatever Apple's motivations - which, as others have pointed out, we will never know - at least they do ALLOW 1 start ratings...unlike an increasing number of websites (MacRumors and YouTube being just two) that have removed the "downvote"/dislike option...to protect feelings no doubt.......