As a developer all I really want is a fair and level playing field in one store ... multiple stores would quickly become a nightmare.
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Worldwide App Store Downloads Reached 8.6 Billion in Q1 2022
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I wonder if this has anything to do with your search history? Because I don’t see Chess-Chess with Friends in my top 40 on my iPad (and 41 is a 4 in a row game so I stopped scrolling). And, I doubt there’s very many paying $30 for a subscription when there are at LEAST 40 other options of vastly varying price levels.
Also, most people don’t search for games on the App Store. They Google “ios chess”… and THERE they will find Chess with Friends
but not only that, links to pages like And, if that page doesn’t provide the info to let them know which one to get, they can search their reddit communities, ask their friends on the social media of their choice, etc.
I'm on an iPhone. It is not there for iPad. I will get a screenshot.I wonder if this has anything to do with your search history? Because I don’t see Chess-Chess with Friends in my top 40 on my iPad (and 41 is a 4 in a row game so I stopped scrolling). And, I doubt there’s very many paying $30 for a subscription when there are at LEAST 40 other options of vastly varying price levels.
Also, most people don’t search for games on the App Store. They Google “ios chess”… and THERE they will find Chess with Friends
And, if that page doesn’t provide the info to let them know which one to get, they can search their reddit communities, ask their friends on the social media of their choice, etc.
If there aren't many people paying $30 then why is it No2?
Even if most people search using Yahoo, Apple should still provide an honest way on the IOS App Store of searching the app store and listing search results.
You can see the problem clearly here.
Chess - Clash of Kings is spending 10s of 1000s of $$$ to try to get to No1,
yet an app "Chess-Chess With Friends" with 1000s of fake reviews that is spending nothing on Apple Search Ads is blocking it's way.
The other app has a perfect 5.0 score from thousands of reviews that have all appeared pretty much at once.
Chess - Clash of Kings is spending 10s of 1000s of $$$ to try to get to No1,
yet an app "Chess-Chess With Friends" with 1000s of fake reviews that is spending nothing on Apple Search Ads is blocking it's way.
The other app has a perfect 5.0 score from thousands of reviews that have all appeared pretty much at once.
Does anyone else remember when Apple used to give prizes to users when Apple reached certain milestones? They've gotten lazy and complacent (like an old marriage mate who takes the other for granted).
The AppStore has been a confusing nightmare for some time now.
The AppStore has been a confusing nightmare for some time now.
Literally the way to ensure fair and level playing fields, and competition for the best developer experience and terms..
...is multiple ways to install Apps.
Developer/User choice on where/how to get and install iOS Apps is the exact market mechanism you are looking for.
Just saying "I want a fair and level playing field in one store" is wishing and hoping for a benevolent dictator.
(dictators never end up being benevolent or fair)
Great post
Just look at that crap sandwich...
To think anyone is, with a straight face, holding up the current Apple iOS App Store as "good" or "great", let alone "best and only way this should be" -- is just bizarre.
Apple saying it, I get -- they are lying and they have a vested interest to protect.
Folks defending their position -- I don't understand. The current situation sucks.
Those numbers are crazy! Android totally overshadows iOS yet people still claim that Apple is a monopoly.
Because, as you say, they’re gaming the system. If I have a ton of unique bots leaving 5 star reviews, that army of bots can’t leave a review without first downloading the app. So lots of downloads, lots of 5 star reviews, top of the list!
Apple will never be able to provide what the rest of the internet provides, that’s just a fact. Anyone that has access to “the internet” but limits their search to JUST what shows up in any digital store? It’s just not wise. While it’s not impossible to game “the internet” (rad shatter legume), it’s a lot harder than gaming a digital store.
I wouldn’t expect anyone to buy from Steam JUST based on what ratings they see on Steam and I wouldn’t expect anyone to buy anything on the Switch based on an eShop rating. I mean, there’s a lot of ways to make a choice on what to buy from a digital store. “Based on content ON the digital store” will forever be the worst one, regardless of which store it is.
Just so you know, most people find apps in the app store via the app store search. That is a fact (according to Apple). Whether or not they should be using the internet instead is irrelevant because the fact is they are not.
Also it is really easy to spot these scam apps. It's the algorithm that is making that app have the 3rd and 4th slots. Positions are curated.
I reported a similar app weeks ago and it is still in the store. This is criminal given that apps like Chess - Clash of Kings are paying 10's of $1000s of dollars in good faith to move up the search via the search mechanism of the app store. They are being impeded by two scam app placements and customers are being misled that the app is worth a $30 subscription because it is at the top of search.
I reported a few fake apps but they are still there. It's like nobody cares about making the search fair, and without a fair search there can be no level playing field.
It really makes you wonder who's deciding and what criteria is *actually* in play here (not shared publicly)
I hate to be this cynical, but it sure seems like they enjoy making money off of "everything" rather than ensuring, as a #1 priority, that IP isn't being stolen or that customers are getting duped into scammy subscription terms and the like.
Only one thing can be the paramount priority and it sure seems like "fast and loose, but making the most money" is the guiding principle.
I'm a big advocate for "watch what they do, not what they say".
conversely, with android having so much more downloads there is obviously plenty of choice in the market. So why force apple to allow alternative app stores. what problem does it actually solve for the consumer?
If I use YouTube to find an App I want to buy
No, it’s not irrelevant. It’s “being a smart consumer”.
Smart consumers make better decisions and even save themselves some time, money, and pain. Sometimes, they have to have a bad experience to learn from, sometimes they learn from the voluminous information available to them on the internet.
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None.
even on Android, the number of applications that are downloaded outside of Google Play are very small compared to via Google Play. Even considering an App that users know about and want to play, sideloading is not seen as viable because not very many people are willing to do it (Epic found that out).Google’s allowance of apps from outside the App Store is a lot of effort expended for an incredibly small number of users. That’s likely why Apple’s not concerned about putting the effort into allowing it, it’s just not worth it.
For iOS App Installation -- they are
It's like some of you are purposely trying to NOT understand the arguments being made in this discussion.
Well I can certainly see why you would avoid using the App Store's built in search at the moment. Hopefully they can fix it so that you don't have to use these around-the-houses methods to find decent apps. Magnus's chess app should be higher up the search for sure.
A definition of a monopoly that includes a company’s trademarked name is most certainly a definition, but it’s an absurd definition. As there’s not a company in existence that doesn’t have legal control and responsibility for the products they create, market and sell.
This isn’t “around the houses”. You’ll never see in-depth comparative video reviews on the App Store. EVER. None of the digital stores have any hope of being better than the internet, neither now, nor in the future. To think that any of them will ever be as good as Google is at best wishful thinking.
I guess Apple could just direct users to the internet when they do an App Store search? It’d be infinitely better than whatever Apple (or any of the digital storefronts) are doing.
It is irrelevant to my argument. I am talking about the App Store search that most IOS users use to find apps. You seem to be trying to make it about something else? I'm not saying your way isn't better, I am saying that your way isn't the way that most people use the store. You might find an even cleverer way to find the apps you love, but it is irrelevant to how the app store search works regarding my example of "Chess". If you can't see that then I don't know what else to say except we can agree to disagree.No, it’s not irrelevant. It’s “being a smart consumer”.
Yes it would be infinitely better. I agree. But it doesn't work like that. The majority of IOS users use the App Store search. It makes no difference if you have a brilliant alternative. I think maybe you are having a different discussion.