”Apple Inc’s newest operating system for iPhones and iPads introduces changes to its marketplace for third-party software to satisfy app developers and add new so-called augmented reality apps,” Stephen Nellis reports for Reuters. “The App Store is the backbone of Apple’s services segment, which brought in $21.5 billion in revenue in the past nine months, a 19 percent increase over the previous year and a bright spot as overall sales grew only 5 percent.”
“The store has been redesigned to give app developers more space for images and text to describe their software. Developers have long grumbled that their software is hard to find in Apple’s store unless users type in the precise name of the app or follow a link to it,” Nellis reports. “’The redesign make it much cleaner and speaks to the pain point of the store: You had so many apps that if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for, it was really hard to find anything,’ said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies.”
“The new store also gives prominent display to games. Games are expected to make up 75 percent of all revenue for Apple’s App Store, according to App Annie, which collects and analyzes market data on mobile apps,” Nellis reports. “But perhaps the biggest change in iOS 11 will the debut of augmented reality apps, or AR, in which digital images float over the real word”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Anyone who’s familiar with Apple’s Music app will feel right at home in the new App Store.
For me, perusing the App Store on my iPhone is just beyond impractical. The screen is simply too small. My iPad is bigger of course, but still very limited. For lack of an Apple Mobile App Store on the Mac, I now use App Shopper on my Mac to find stuff and when I have found something I want, that page will be waiting for me on my iOS device. I then take it from there.
I think it’s silly for Apple not to have a Unified App Store on the Mac (or iOS for that matter). In App Shopper I can list all apps from a developer and easily see whether an app has equivalents on both platforms.
Also I think it’s silly to not provide the option of not having to download an app on the machine where the purchase is being made. There are many occasions where I come across an app on one machine that I want to have installed on another. This was possible in the now deleted iOS App Store on the Mac; purchase on Mac, install on iOS (although you had to download it on the Mac too).
Reuters really do have a problem saying anything in a positive light about Apple don’t they, you can just feel the negativity what with ‘so-called’, ‘only grew’, ‘grumbled’ its like listening to a grumpy old man whinging about having to use a credit card when good old money suficed in his day.
Now, if only Apple would get serious about the Mac App Store. The App Store application has never been more than a POS, deserving of the status of BETAWARE.
And yes, I’ve reported specific blundering bungles in the App Store app to Apple a number of times. They don’t care. This is where Apple fanatics get seriously pissed off.
Oh and Apple: I downgraded from iTunes 12.7 for similar reasons. Shameful.