Mac App Store

Today in Apple history: Apple preps for Mac App Store’s big debut

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The Mac App Store opens its doors to developers.
The Mac App Store opens its doors to developers.
Photo: Apple

November 3: Today in Apple history: Apple preps for Mac App Store launchNovember 3, 2010: Apple prepares to launch the Mac App Store, publicly accepting app submissions from registered developers — and kicking off a gold rush among coders.

After witnessing the enormous sums of money raked in by early entrants in the iOS App Store, developers flood Apple with new Mac apps.

Submissions fall to all-time low as devs lose interest in Mac App Store

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Office Mac App Store
Fewer than 300 new apps hit the Mac App Store last month.
Photo: Apple

Developers are seemingly losing interest in bringing their titles to the Mac App Store, with new submissions steadily declining since the beginning of 2021. There were fewer than 300 new releases for the first time ever in July.

And research indicates August could prove even worse for new Mac App Store submissions.

App Store is a $519-billion-a-year economic engine, Apple says

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The App Store facilitates sales of billions of dollars in sales of physical goods.
Apple’s App Store is much more than software sales. It contributes to the economy in many ways.
Photo: Apple

The Apple App Store ecosystem contributed over half a trillion dollars to the global economy in 2019, according to a study commissioned by Apple.

This total encompasses far more than just what iPhone or Mac users pay for software. It includes transactions done through these apps, from grocery deliveries to streaming services.

CleanMyMac X drive-decluttering software finally hits Mac App Store

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CleanMyMac X
It took 12 years, but CleanMyMac is on the App Store.
Photo: MacPaw

The popular utility CleanMyMac debuted way back in 2008, but MacPaw is finally bringing it to the Mac App Store all these years later. This will make it easier to find, buy and install.

The developer admits it did only direct sales of this product for business reasons. But the App Store version will also lack some features of the version sold on the MacPaw website for technical reasons.

Smash hit Alto’s Odyssey sandboards onto Mac

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Alto
2018's App Store stunner is finally available on Mac.
Photo: Snowman

Two years after it debuted in the iOS App Store, Alto’s Odyssey has finally arrived on Mac.

The long-awaited follow up to 2015’s brilliant Alto’s Adventure endless snowboarding game transposes the action to a desert sandboarding setting. The resulting game is a luscious graphical stunner that will keep you playing for hours!

Habit-tracking app Streaks is finally available for Mac

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streaks-for-mac
Break your bad habits with Streaks.
Photo: Streaks

To-do and habit-tracking app Streaks is finally available for Mac after previously being available only for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

The app lets you track up to 12 tasks to complete every day. Users must build a streak of consecutive days they have accomplished these on. That makes it perfect for promoting good habits such as walking more, or breaking bad habits like drinking too much coffee or smoking.

Apple will enforce macOS app notarization requirements starting in February

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iMac
Apple wants to make macOS as safe as possible.
Photo: Apple

Mac app developers that distribute their apps outside of the Mac App Store will have to submit their software to Apple’s notarization process starting in February.

Apple detailed the upcoming changes in a note to developers this morning. The company originally said developers would have until January 2020 to submit for notarization but the window has been extended a bit.

This highly rated Adobe Lightroom alternative does the same job for a whole lot less [Deals]

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Fotor
Don't end up paying monthly for Adobe Lightroom, Fotor is a great alternative.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you need to work on virtually any graphics project, Adobe Illustrator can likely handle your task. Of course, to finish that task, you may need a post-graduate degree. Because for all of its capabilities, actually deciphering Illustrator’s quagmire of filters, layers, effects and hundreds of additional bells and whistles is…well, not easy.

iWork apps for iOS and Mac get a massive update

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iWork
iWork could expose user data to U.S. authorities.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s suite of iWork productivity apps received a big batch of updates today for both the Mac and iOS versions.

Keynote, Numbers and Pages for the two platforms added a bunch of new features. The biggest addition is some new outline styles. There are also a couple of new customization options for Apple Pencil and a face detection feature that intelligently positions people in placeholders and objects.

App Store testers plow through up to 100 apps per day

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Apple removes 17 malware apps which secretly clicked on ads
Nothing makes it onto an Apple App Store without a human looking at it. That takes less time than you might think.
Photo: Apple

With close to two million applications in its software stores, Apple reportedly doesn’t have much time to devote to testing most new submissions. Details leaking out about the process show that a typical app either gets approved or blocked in 5 or 10 minutes.

A lot of them get blocked.

Adobe Lightroom hits the Mac App Store and you can try it out for free

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Adobe-Lightroom-Mac
Try it for 7 days before signing up.
Photo: Adobe

Adobe has brought its professional photo editing software to the Mac App Store.

Lightroom for macOS is available now as a free download, and you can try it for seven days before deciding whether or not you want to cough up for it. This is the full version of Lightroom — just like you would get from Adobe.

Apple will soon require all macOS apps to be notarized

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iMac
Apple wants to make macOS as safe as possible.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed that all macOS apps will need to be notarized to be accepted by Gatekeeper after its Mojave 10.14.5 update.

The requirement applies to new and updated apps and all software from developers who are new to distributing with Developer ID. In a future version of macOS, notarization will be required by default.

Microsoft Office 365 available now from the Mac App Store

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Office Mac App Store
Your favorite apps could soon be available on any Apple device.
Photo: Apple

Just as expected, the Microsoft Office 365 suite is now available to download from the Mac App Store.

The bundle includes six apps — including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — each of which can also be downloaded individually. They are free to obtain, but you’ll need a subscription to unlock even basic features in most of them.

Apple highlights the apps and games which ‘shaped entertainment’ this year

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Apple removes 17 malware apps which secretly clicked on ads
Apple also covers movies, music, and more.
Photo: Apple

Apple has released its year-end lists for the best apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and more. Apple’s selections — which it claims “shaped entertainment and culture around the world this year” — are all available to buy via Apple’s platforms.

Here are some of the selections that made the cut.

Apple wipes 11 categories from the Mac App Store

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Mac App Store
Apple's latest move is bad for macOS developers.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has removed 11 categories from the Mac App Store. The Categories tab now displays just 10 options as opposed to 21, with Finance, Lifestyle, and Sports among those dropped.

The move is a disappointment to app developers who rely on specific categories for discoverability. Many initially believed that the change was a bug, but Apple has since confirmed that the removal of these items is “expected behavior.”

Marco Rubio wants Apple to shed light on data-stealing Mac app

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Senator Rubio
Rubio is upset about a Mac app that was found to be sending user data to China.
Photo: Senator Rubio

Florida Senator Marco Rubio isn’t happy about Mac apps. Specifically, he’s not happy about Mac apps stealing user data and sending it off to remote servers in China. And he’s perhaps most unhappy that Apple failed to act sooner than it did.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Rubio voiced his complaints to Apple CEO Tim Cook. In it, he asked why Apple failed to immediately act upon information it had about an app, Adware Doctor, which was behaving in a malicious manner.

Apple removes Mac apps which are stealing user data

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The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
Problematic apps were stealing user data and sending it to remote servers.
Photo: Brian Klug/Flickr CC

Apple has removed a series of apps from the Mac App Store after they were found to be accessing users’ private data and sending it to remote servers. The apps in question include Adware Doctor, Open Any Files: RAR Support, Dr. Antivirus, and Dr. Cleaner.

The apps duped users into giving them access to their macOS home directories by promising to perform functions such as scanning for viruses or clearing caches. By accessing the home directory, they were then able to gain access to information about users’ browsing history, and more.

Top Mac app steals your browsing history and sends it to China

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The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
If you've downloaded Adware Doctor, you may want to reconsider!
Photo: Brian Klug/Flickr CC

A top paid app in the Mac App Store has been revealed as stealing the browser histories of anyone who downloads and uses it.

Adware Doctor is among the top grossing paid apps in the App Store’s utilities category. According to a report by TechCrunch, Apple was warned about the data pilfering several weeks ago, although it has still not pulled the app.

Apple is ignorantly killing the App Store affiliate program

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has confirmed plans to drop apps and in-app purchases from its iTunes Affiliate Program by October 1.

The company feels that commissions are no longer necessary following the launch of its redesigned App Store, which has improved app discovery. However, everyone else believes it’s an ignorant and shortsighted move that won’t be good for anyone but Apple.