Apple is ramping up the advertising side of its App Store business, according to the Financial Times.
The company currently sells App Store ads, allowing developers to pay for top spots. But soon Apple will roll out another advertising spot for sale in the “Suggested” apps section. This will allow developers to more widely promote their apps, rather than having them show up only in response to certain search terms.
The controversial social-networking service Parler will soon reappear in the App Store. Apple reportedly un-banned the service Monday after it promised to start moderating content.
Then service was banned from the iOS and Android software stores after it was used to plan the attack on the U.S. Capital in January.
Both Apple and Amazon pride themselves in technology that “just works.” One thing that hasn’t previously “just worked,” however, was the cumbersome way purchases had to take place on the Amazon-owned Audible audiobook service.
While people who listen to their audiobooks on iPhone have to use the iOS app, and this app allowed them to search the catalog for other titles, there was no way to actually buy a new book via the app. Instead, users had to go to Audible.com to buy the books they wanted, before switching back to the app to listen to them.
A Senate subcommittee wants to ask Google and Apple antitrust-related questions about their software stores, but the iPhone-maker reportedly turned down a request to testify.
Apple told Senators it could not do so because of ongoing litigation. That’s probably a reference to the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit currently in the pre-trial phase.
In a Tuesday note to clients, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty raised her services-related revenue forecast for Apple through 2022 even as she lowered the overall price target for AAPL stock.
“Following strong March quarter App Store results and an analysis of the key drivers of Apple’s Licensing & Other segment, we raise our already above-street FY21 and FY22 Services revenue estimates by 3% and 5% respectively, and are increasingly convinced that consensus Services forecasts over the next 2+ years are too low,” Huberty wrote.
TikTok topped the App Store charts for another month as the top non-gaming app worldwide. Across both iOS and Android, the popular video-sharing app racked up more than 58 million installs.
The No. 1 audience for TikTok is China, where the app is called Douyin. China accounted for 11% of downloads, followed by the United States with 10%.
Apple reminded developers on Monday that new iOS, iPadOS and tvOS versions coming soon will block applications from tracking users without specific permission. It’ll no longer be possible for networks of apps to surreptitiously track what people use their devices for.
The same note includes a warning that its also is also forbidden to try to find a workaround for this block by “fingerprinting” devices.
Apple rejects a large percentage of App Store submissions, CEO Tim Cook said Monday, arguing that the company’s strict oversight is necessary to keep iPhones secure.
He was responding to questions about moves by government regulators around the world that might result on Apple being forced to allow rival iPhone software stores.
The average U.S. iPhone user shelled out $138 for apps in 2020, according to a market research firm. That’s a 38% year-over-year increase.
As has held true for many years, mostly what people are buying is games.
Russia’s “anti-Apple” law came into force today, meaning that all smartphones, tablets, and computers sold in the country must offer local software and apps as part of the setup process.
Apple reportedly “strongly opposed” the law, and even went so far as to threaten to pull out of the Russian market over it. However, as was the case with a government-created “Do Not Disturb” app in India, it eventually relented.
The app ecosystem did very, very well during the global pandemic. While many businesses struggled, the app industry experienced a massive boom in sales, as people were stuck home with, in many cases, a lot more time on their hands.
It seems the 2020 rise in sales isn’t slowing down, either. According to a new App Annie, consumer spending on apps achieved a new record high in the first quarter of 2021. Across both iOS and Android, customers spent $32 billion on apps in the quarter. That’s a 40 percent increase from the same period last year — and the biggest quarter on record.
According to a recent complaint filed with a U.K. antitrust regulator, Apple and Google are working a bit too closely for comfort. The complaint alleges “collusion at a very senior level” of both companies when it comes to search engines.
But make no mistake: While things certainly cooled down since the days when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs threatened to go to “thermonuclear war” against Google, the two companies remain on a collision course. And the conflict will come over the exact same issue they’re currently allegedly colluding on.
It’s all about the future of search as we know it.
One of the big criticisms leveled at Apple over its control of the App Store is that it doesn’t allow ways of side-loading apps. That is to say that, if you want an app on iOS, it’s Apple’s way or the highway.
Apple, however, disagrees. In a response made as part of the Australian consumer watchdog’s probe into the App Store, Apple argues that this is not true at all — because people can create web apps or the internet.
Applications that trick users into paying huge subscription fees raked in over $400 million from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, according to research done by Avast.
The so-called “fleeceware” takes advantage of a weakness in both app stores: deleting an application tied to a subscription doesn’t cancel the subscription.
Ron Okamoto quietly retired after two decades as Apple’s vice president of Developer Relations. He helped oversee the tools provided to third-party iPhone and Mac application developers, and helped set policies for the App Store.
His retirement comes as governments around the world are investigating whether Apple treats fairly the third-party developers who depend on the iPhone and Mac App Stores.
Since the very start of the App Store, some developers have criticized Apple for being opaque with its decision-making. Apple, it seems, doesn’t agree with these claims.
In a response to formal complaints made to Australia’s antitrust watchdog by Epic Games and others, Apple defends its reviews process. Far from being slow and tough to deal with, Apple argues that it works quickly, and provides all the information it needs to in a swift and open manner.
End-to-end-encrypted messaging app Signal is secure. So secure, in fact, that it’s the European Union’s encrypted messaging app of choice.
Unfortunately, it’s also secure enough that it’s gotten on the wrong side of the Chinese government. China has reportedly banned the app in mainland China as of March 16, TechCrunch reports. This is one day after its website was blocked in the country.
Apple devices sold in Russia will come preinstalled with Russian-made software approved by the government starting next month, a report published Tuesday suggests.
This is in response to a law, coming into force April 1, designed to promote the domestic tech sector. It affects all smartphone manufacturers, not just Apple.
Games in the App Store are getting bigger. An average of 76% bigger over the past five years to be precise. That’s according to a new report from app analytics platform Sensor Tower.
The firm recently analyzed the average file size of the top 100 revenue-generating mobile games on the U.S. App Store for each year since 2016. This includes only the file size of the original download, and not any additional content.
Stop using the reviews you see in the App Store to help you decide what applications to buy. They’re meaningless because so many of them are fraudulent. And these purchased fake reviews are frequently used to trick people into buying scam applications.
The problem is severe enough that Apple should take reviews completely out of the App Store if it can’t come up with a better solution.
TikTok has cemented itself at the top of the App Store for yet another month, showing the seemingly unassailable dominance of the video-sharing app. According to app analytics platform Sensor Tower, TikTok was the top-grossing, non-gaming app worldwide for February 2021.
For the month, it raked in more than $110 million in user spending across both iOS and Android. That’s approaching twice what it earned in revenue that month last year, although marginally down from the $128 million it pulled in back in January.
Spotify’s accusation to the European Union that Apple uses its control of the App Store to squeeze out competition reportedly will soon result in antitrust charges being filed against the iPhone-maker. This comes on the same day the UK begins an investigation of the App Store.
The two antitrust agencies could force Apple to lower the commissions it charges software developers. Or even require rival iPhone app stores.
Antitrust investigators in the Netherlands are reportedly coming to the end of a “years-long” investigation into Apple and its control of the App Store.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has been investigating this matter since 2019. It focuses on Apple’s “payments system” in the App Store, which charges developers 15% to 30% in commission. With its impending decision, it could become the first antitrust authority to rule on this contentious issue.
Apple will highlight the contributions of women to society in many ways during Women’s History Month, including suggesting relevant outstanding books, podcasts and apps. It also plans virtual Today at Apple sessions led by female creators.
Plus, there’ll be an International Women’s Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge for March 8, and there’ll be other ways of observing this day.
Developers have updated instructions for filling out the privacy “nutrition labels” shown in the App Store. There are additions and clarifications.
Apple asks developers to submit the information for these privacy labels shown to users. There’ve been questions about how accurate the devs’ responses are — including some from a Congressional committee — and the new instructions might be part of Apple’s response.