Apple has started removing duplicate VoIP apps from the App Store.
The purge comes after a report highlighted a shady practice some developers have been using to game App Store search results. Plenty of clones still remain in other categories, however.
Apple is giving iOS, macOS, and tvOS developers the ability to offer discounted subscriptions in an effort to win back past subscribers.
A new article posted to App Store Connect details the change and explains the three options developers will have to choose from — including a free trial period like those offered to new customers.
It’s not just U.S. developers who are hitting it rich thanks to the App Store. According to new figures released by Apple, it has now paid out $25 billion through the App Store to European developers.
Last June, Apple reported having paid out more than $20 billion. Almost an extra $5 billon in seven months is pretty darn impressive — working out at upward of $70 million per month.
Apple has added a shortcut to the latest versions of iOS 12 to make managing app subscriptions easier. Previously, you had to dig deep into your Apple ID settings to find the control panel for your subs. Now, it’s just a couple of taps away. On the surface, this looks like a simple tweak to make things easier for the user, but it’s more than that.
By making subscriptions easier for the user to cancel, it’s also making it more likely that people will sign up for them in the first place. That’s good for users, for developers, and for quality apps in general.
Google is following Apple’s lead in investigating a controversial Saudi app which allowed men to follow the locations of their wife or daughters.
Tim Cook said yesterday that Apple was looking into the app to find out whether complaints made about it were accurate. Google has now told the New York Times that it plans to do the same.
Tim Cook says he will investigate a Saudi government app that lets men receive updates on the location of their wives and daughters.
Speaking on National Public Radio, Cook said he was not personally aware of the app. However, he noted that, “obviously we’ll take a look at it if [the complaints about it are accurate].”
iPhone users in the US spent, on average, $79 last year on software. That’s up 36 percent from 2017, according to figures from a market analysts firm. Spending on premium apps and in-app purchases has more than doubled since 2015.
Of the 2018 total, $44 was spent just on games, a 22 percent increase year-over-year.
Apple wants developers to be more transparent about the use of analytics code that lets them record how users interact with apps. Or else.
Hammering home its commitment to user privacy, Apple has contacted the makers of several apps recently highlighted as gathering screen-recording analytics data without properly disclosing it — and it wasn’t just for a friendly chat.
Popular email client Newton Mail has made a surprise return to the App Store — alongside Newton Calendar.
Users can log in using the same Newton account they used before. If you haven’t already tried Newton Mail, you can enjoy a 14-day free trial before subscribing.
Some iOS 11 users are having trouble accessing the App Store and Apple Music, according to online reports.
The services have been unusable for over a day for a number of users who are yet to upgrade to the latest software — despite being shown as online on Apple’s System Status page. There is a weird workaround that has proven useful for some, however.
Apple just dealt Facebook a serious blow in retaliation for the social network’s recently pulled VPN app that was paying teens to take all their data from phones.
Facebook’s internal iOS apps no longer work after Apple revoked the certifications need to install the apps on employee’s iPhones. Everything from early builds of Facebook, Messenger and Instagram won’t even open. Even simple tools like a lunch menu are currently broken.
The App Store raked in almost twice as much revenue as Google Play in 2018, despite significantly fewer downloads.
Google’s marketplace did enjoy a 27.3 percent rise in gross app revenue year-over-year — a larger rise than Apple’s — but iOS remains the most lucrative platform for developers by far.
Fortnite is like an unstoppable freight train that continues to plow through players’ wallets month after month. Despite controversial changes and additions to its insanely popular Battle Royale mode, it shows no signs of slowing down.
Even on mobile the game has been incredibly successful, with almost half a billion dollars made on iOS alone in 2018. A whopping $69 million of that was raked in during December, Fortnite’s best month so far on iOS, according to new data.
Fourteen iOS apps have been discovered to be covertly sending information to the server associated with Android-based malware Golduck, which affected more than 10 million users.
Golduck embedded malicious code on devices, which allowed hackers to do things like sending premium SMS messages from a victim’s phone. According to security researchers, the related iPhone apps could pose the same threat.
The Apple App Store had its best week ever between between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. And New Year’s Day was the best single day of sales ever.
This is just the kind of news the company needs, as Pres. Trump’s trade war with China is hurting iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales in that country.
Apple’s often baffling App Store ban hammer has fallen again.
Developer Rusty Lake has had all of its games pulled for supposedly being spam and “looking identical” — despite the fact that they are genuine (and popular) games. It has told fans that it hopes this is an automated removal and that its titles will be back soon.
You know what the New Year means? New devices, and the need for new apps to fill them. Only you’re all spent out, and instead of buying you an iTunes voucher, Auntie and Uncle got you yet another country-themed doll like you used to collect when you were a kid1.
The answer is an App Store Wish List. And in order to save you money that you don;t have, were going to make our own with the Shortcuts app.
Today we’ll make two shortcuts. One will add any app to a list in Reminders. The second will take that list, and show you a beautiful list of links and prices, right there in the Today view. Just tap on an app to see it in the App Store, and maybe even buy it.
Compared to the lawless wilderness that is certain other app stores, Apple’s App Store is a well-regulated place, free from dodgy fake apps masquerading as the real thing.
Clearly someone in Cupertino got a little too merry with the egg nog recently, however, since a phony version of the Amazon Alexa app was recently granted permission to enter the App Store. It even managed to hit the #6 spot in the App Store’s utilities section over the holidays.
Apple has removed a free religious app from the App Store reportedly promoting so-called conversion therapy.
The app was created by Living Hope Ministries, a religious group based in Arlington, Texas. It offered users a “more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ” with the alleged goal of changing a person’s sexual orientation. Apple gave the app the boot following a petition from LGBTQ nonprofit group Truth Wins Out.
The lovable Lemmings are back and better than ever. Help them navigate there way through challenging environments in a brand new game, exclusively for mobile, from Sony PlayStation.
With more levels than every previous Lemmings game combined (literally thousands!), carefully perfected touch controls, and plenty of variety throughout, it’s a must-have for mobile gamers.
Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to allow the gifting of in-app purchases.
Shoppers have long been able to gift apps and games, but Apple’s rules previously prohibited the purchase of in-app items for others. You probably won’t be able to gift in-app purchases in time for the holidays, however.
2018 has been one of the best years ever for Apple. Looking at some of the company’s most popular metric shows that the numbers are up across the board (stock price excepted).
Never before have there been more developers making more money off iOS while Apple extends its ever-growing reach. Revenue hit an all-time high. And the next big thing feels like it’s just on the horizon.
Here’s Apple’s 2018 by the numbers.
Netflix was the biggest earner in non-game apps in the App Store this year. According to data from app analytics company Sensor Tower, the streaming-video powerhouse raked in a massive $790.2 million on iOS during 2018 — or, at least, through November 30.
Here are the other companies that carved out spaces in the top 10 non-game app list.
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.
Tumblr made the shocking announcement today that it is kicking all forms of pornography off its platform and Apple’s strict rules could be to blame.
Starting on December 17, Tumblr will no longer allow porn on its site. Tumblr says the change has come after several months of serious thought on who it wants to be, but its recent ban from the App Store is probably the biggest reason why.
