Let’s face it: The App Store’s app discovery functionality is terrible, mostly because it rewards apps that are already popular and doesn’t give you a lot of options for finding unheralded apps that might be better than what’s in the top downloads chart. One awesome new website is looking for change all that, however. More →
A few days ago, Apple has made a significant change to its iTunes stores in European Union countries, introducing a new 14-day no-questions-asked refund period in all these EU markets. That effectively means EU customers buying paid content from the App Store, can ask for their money back in case they end up hating an iOS or iPhone app. However, the new refund policy can apparently be abused because users can both ask for their money back and still keep the app. More →
Apple is about to increase paid apps prices for some users, the company told developers, with the change affecting both App Store and Mac App Store customers. The change will impact customers in Canada, the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Russia, 9to5Mac reports. More →
Apple’s iTunes is already a hugely popular digital content source for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows users, and things might get even better for European iTunes account holders, CNET reports. The iPhone maker has been forced to update its iTunes terms of service in order to add a “14-day, no-questions-asked return policy for all content purchased through iTunes, the App Store and iBooks,” as the publication puts it. More →
In addition to clearly marking which iOS and OS X apps in the App Store and Mac App Store have in-app purchase options, Apple has taken one more important step towards ensuring that customers know exactly what apps they’re downloading, as first spotted by MacRumors. The company has replaced the word “Free,” which appeared under the name of apps available as free downloads from its digital stores, regardless whether they come with in-app purchases or not, with the word “Get.”
Meanwhile, paid apps still have the price listed instead of the word “Get,” and all apps still have clear indicators when in-app purchases are available. More →
No matter how good your mobile app is, there will always be at least one person who will trash it with a one-star rating on the App Store, just because some people can’t help hating on things. App developer Todd Ransom, who has developed an app that maps out the areas surrounding the gorgeous waterfalls of western North Carolina, explains on Twitter that his app has gotten a one-star review for the most ridiculous possible reason: The reviewer got stung by yellow jackets while using the app. More →
The new Fiksu numbers highlight just how infernal life for app vendors has become. The price of acquiring a loyal app user has doubled from early 2012 to current level of more than $2 per user. This is a disaster for many app vendors because the lifetime value of an app user is typically less than $2, and in many cases less than a dollar. Getting consumers to download your app is becoming more difficult with each passing month and the room for smaller app vendors keeps shrinking. More →
Apple’s stance on porn in iOS apps is well-known, and such in-app content is likely to get an application rejected from the App Store until the developer addresses it. Even facilitating access to porn may be a good reason for Apple to prevent an application from reaching the App Store. In fact, a developer of one app that could offer users a way to access adult content has been contacted by Apple on the matter in an unexpected, explicit, and shocking way. More →
Apple still has plenty of work to do on iOS 8 before users will be satisfied with the update, but there are plenty of improvements in place that make for a better (and safer) operating system. We already pointed you in the direction of seven privacy settings you should change, but there’s one more great feature that made its way from desktop to mobile in iOS 8: the ability to hide App Store purchases. More →
During this year’s WWDC, Apple made several announcements related to iOS, OS X and the App Store that targeted both regular device users and app developers. One of the new Apple Store features introduced at the event was something called app bundles that promises developers they’ll be able to bundle together multiple apps and sell these special packages to iOS users when iOS 8 arrives. The bundles will offer users cheaper access to apps: each bundle will be more expensive than the individual prices of the apps in it, but cheaper for the user than buying each included app separately. Now, these app bundles are finally live in the App Store. More →
Hanx Writer is a simple typewriter iOS app for the iPad, created by Hitcents at the request of Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks. Launched only last week and available as a free download, the app has already hit the No. 1 spot in the top free iPad apps on the App Store, TechCrunch reports, enjoying unexpected success for an app that’s not at all essential to improving productivity on a tablet. More →
It’s not uncommon to hear criticism of Apple’s App Store even from fans of the company, as many have said in the past that the store makes it much harder than it should be to find relevant high-quality apps from smaller publishers. Cult of Mac points us to a new post from Jean-Louis Gassée, who worked at Apple throughout the 1980s and who has some intriguing new ideas for improving the App Store, which he refers to as an “impenetrable jungle.” More →
