App Store

By MacRumors Staff
Jump to How Tos Articles


App Store How Tos

How to Download Large Apps Over Cellular on iPhone and iPad

Monday February 3, 2020 11:56 am PST by
Apple used to limit the size of App Store downloads over cellular to 150MBs to prevent iPhone users from accidentally downloading a large app over 3G or 4G networks and using up all their data allowance or running up data charges. In May 2019, Apple upped the limit of over-the-air downloads to 200MB, but offered no way to opt out of the limit at the time, leaving users with unlimited data...

How to Add Funds to Your Apple ID on iPhone and iPad

Monday November 11, 2019 9:38 am PST by
It used to be the case that adding funds to your Apple ID required redeeming an iTunes Gift Card bought from a store, but Apple now lets you use a debit or credit card right on your iPhone or iPad to do the same thing. Adding funds to your Apple ID allows you to make purchases from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store on any of your Apple devices. It's easy to add funds to your...

How to Update Apps in iOS 13

Monday September 16, 2019 5:13 pm PDT by
If you recently updated your iPhone to iOS 13 or your iPad to iPadOS 13 and you can't work out how to manually update your installed apps, then you've come to the right place. Apple has changed the way you update apps in iOS. In earlier versions of its mobile operating system, app updates lived in their own tab in the App Store app, but that has since had to make way for a new Apple Arcade...

How to Cancel App Store Subscriptions

Wednesday April 4, 2018 1:50 am PDT by
Several TV and music services and other apps offer free trials through the App Store that automatically renew to become paid subscriptions after the trial period ends. If you want to prevent an App Store subscription from running beyond the trial period or cancel a subscription you're currently paying for, then read on. This article explains how to cancel any App Store subscription on iOS,...

App Store Articles

ios 15 app store search results

iOS 15: App Store Hides Screenshots of Installed Apps in Search Results to Improve Discoverability

Wednesday June 9, 2021 1:58 am PDT by
Apple on Monday previewed iOS 15 as the next major update to iOS, and already, despite the new software being in the hands of developers for just a few days, a plethora of hidden features continue to be discovered. One new hidden tweak is a change in behavior in the App Store, where now screenshots for already installed apps are hidden in ‌App Store‌ search results. The new change, spotted...
Mac App Store General Feature

Apple Updates App Store Review Guidelines, Says Developers Can Now Appeal Over Perceived Unfair Treatment

Monday June 7, 2021 2:30 pm PDT by
Apple today updated its App Store Review Guidelines to reflect its newly unveiled software versions, including iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15. The updated guidelines also address developer trust and safety issues. In addition, two updates have been made to the App Review contact form on Apple's website. First, developers who appeal an app rejection can now specify...
generic tracking prompt blue

Apps Continuing to Track Users Despite Apple's Privacy Prompt

Monday June 7, 2021 9:04 am PDT by
Apple is facing increasing pressure to tighten its App Tracking Transparency rules after it was found that third parties are using workarounds to identify users who do not consent to be tracked, according to the Financial Times. Apple rules around App Tracking Transparency, which came into effect as part of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, require apps to ask for consent to track users across...
app store safe secure

Study Finds Up to 2% of Top 1,000 Paid Apps on App Store Were Scams

Monday June 7, 2021 7:33 am PDT by
Apple has used its app review process as a bulwark in recent legal assaults on its App Store policy, and put particular emphasis on the security benefits for iOS users when buying apps. However, an investigation has found that almost 2% of the top 1,000 highest grossing apps on a given day were some sort of scam. According to The Washington Post, which conducted the investigation, scam apps...
app store blue banner

App Store Ecosystem Responsible for Estimated $643 Billion in Billings and Sales in 2020, According to Apple-Commissioned Study

Wednesday June 2, 2021 11:00 am PDT by
The App Store ecosystem facilitated an estimated $643 billion in billings and sales in 2020, an increase of 24 percent year-over-year, according to an Apple-commissioned study done by Analysis Group economists. [PDF] The study, "A Global Perspective on the Apple ‌App Store‌ Ecosystem," comes as Apple awaits a decision in its ongoing trial with Epic Games, much of which focused on App Store...
app store review scam

App Store Scam App Required a Good Review to Function at All

Wednesday May 26, 2021 8:21 am PDT by
An app that demanded at least a three-star review to function got through the App Store review process, it has been found (via The Verge). iOS developer Kosta Eleftheriou discovered that the "UPNP Xtreme" app, which claimed to let users stream video to a TV, presented the system's ‌App Store‌ rating box as soon as it opened. The rating box could not be escaped from and it was not possible to ...
app store blue banner

Judge Grills Tim Cook on App Store Policies as End of of Epic Games v. Apple Trial Approaches

Friday May 21, 2021 1:48 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook testified in the Epic Games v. Apple trial today, and some of the final questioning by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers did not appear to go in Apple's favor. She spent several minutes grilling Cook on Apple's App Store policies and some of the statements that he made. "You said you want to give users control, so what's the problem with allowing users to have a cheaper option...
Tim Cook Feature Yellow

Apple CEO Tim Cook Testifies in Epic Games v. Apple Trial

Friday May 21, 2021 9:48 am PDT by
Today is the one of the last days of the Epic Games v. Apple trial, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken the stand to ask questions levied by both Apple and Epic lawyers. Cook's testimony won't be integral to the outcome of the trial, but what he has to say is of interest because this is the first time that he's testified in a legal case, which highlights the serious nature of this dispute....
tile amazon sidewalk integration

Apple Says Tile Trackers Sold Poorly in Apple Stores

Friday May 14, 2021 5:53 am PDT by
Earlier last month, Spotify, Tile, and Match (owner of Tinder), testified at an app store antitrust hearing spearheaded by the U.S. Senate. During the hearing, Spotify called Apple's App Store "an abusive power grab," while Tile said Apple uses its platform to "unfairly limit competition for its products." Now, in response to their testimonies, Apple's vice president and chief compliance...
app store blue banner

Apple Highlights How the App Store Prevents Fraud Amid Legal Battle With Epic Games

Tuesday May 11, 2021 11:00 am PDT by
Apple today announced that, through a combination of automated technologies and human review processes, the company protected customers from more than $1.5 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2020. Apple said secure payment technologies like Apple Pay and StoreKit (In-App Purchase) play an essential role in keeping users safe:With online data breaches frustratingly common,...
app store blue banner uk

UK Class Action Accuses Apple of Breaking Competition Law by Overcharging for Apps

Tuesday May 11, 2021 1:54 am PDT by
A new legal case filed with the U.K.'s Competition Appeal Tribunal has accused Apple of breaching competition law by overcharging nearly 20 million customers for App Store purchases. The collective action case alleges Apple's 30% commission on app sales and consumers' forced use of its own payment processing system generates "unlawfully excessive levels of profit," and calls for the company...
app store blue banner

Apple Rejected Approximately 35% of Apps Submitted to App Store Between 2017 and 2019

Friday May 7, 2021 1:30 pm PDT by
The ongoing Epic Games v. Apple trial continues to provide insight into Apple's App Store processes, with documents today offering up details on the number of apps submitted to the ‌App Store‌ and rejected by Apple's review processes. Apple received an average of five million app submissions per year between 2017 and 2019, and between 33 and 35 percent of apps submitted were rejected by...
apple app store page

Apple Exec: We Feature Competitors' Apps 'All The Time' on the App Store

Friday May 7, 2021 6:05 am PDT by
On May 3, the Epic Games vs. Apple trial got underway, and every day, new emails between Apple executives and employees continue to be shared by Epic as evidence for its case against Apple. In the latest batch of emails, the vice president of the App Store, Matt Fischer, claims that Apple features apps made by its competitors "all the time" on the store and rejects the sentiment that it...
appstore

Phil Schiller on App Store Knockoffs in 2012: 'Is No One Reviewing These Apps?'

Thursday May 6, 2021 2:49 pm PDT by
Knockoff apps have long been a problem in the App Store, with scam apps sneaking past reviewers to compete with genuine apps and steal sales, and back in 2012, Apple's Phil Schiller was absolutely furious when a fake app made it to the top of the ‌App Store‌ rankings, according to documents shared in the Epic v. Apple trial. At the time, Temple Run was a super popular iOS exclusive title,...
app store search tags

App Store Now Offers Search Suggestions

Thursday April 29, 2021 2:43 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that the App Store is now offering search suggestions, a new feature that's designed to make it easy to locate exactly what you're looking for when seeking out a new app or game. You'll see search suggestions when you start typing in a new search term. So, for example, if you type in "Game," you'll see specific categories you can add such as "puzzle," "multiplayer,"...
appstore

Australian Watchdog Wants iOS Users to Have More Control Over Preinstalled Apps

Wednesday April 28, 2021 3:04 am PDT by
In an report related to its ongoing investigation into Apple and Google app marketplace dominance, Australia's consumer watchdog has warned both companies that it wants consumers to have more choice when it comes to preinstalled apps on Apple and Android devices (via ZDNet). Specifically, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) wants Apple and Google to give users more...
apple developer app feature

Apple Again Extends Deadline Requiring Apps Offering Virtual Group Events to Use In-App Purchases

Thursday April 22, 2021 12:11 pm PDT by
Last fall, Apple changed its App Store rules around in-app purchases for realtime experiences, and the guidelines technically require apps that offer virtual events to more than a single person to use in-app purchases. Apple is not yet enforcing that rule, however, and has once again extended the timeline of when in-app purchases will need to be implemented. Apple has set the new deadline...
app store search ads 2

Apple Plans to Expand Ad Visibility in App Store

Thursday April 22, 2021 2:00 am PDT by
Apple is planning to boost its advertising business through a new ad slot on the App Store search page which will allow developers to promote their apps across the entire platform, rather than just when users search for a specific app, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Apple already boasts an ‌App Store‌ advertising business where it allows developers to pay for the top...
f1618938547

U.S. Senator Calls AirTags Release 'Timely' as App Store Antitrust Hearing Kicks Off

Wednesday April 21, 2021 10:50 am PDT by
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is spearheading an antitrust hearing on competition in App Stores, today called Apple's AirTags release "timely" because it is the type of conduct that she plans to examine, reports Reuters. "It's timely given that this is the type of conduct that we'll be talking about at the hearing," she said, while also mentioning that criticisms of the App Store and Play...
epic iap feature 3

Tim Cook Says App Store Would Become a 'Flea Market' if Third-Party Payment Systems Were Allowed

Monday April 12, 2021 10:41 am PDT by
In a recent interview with the Toronto Star, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about a wide variety of topics, ranging from App Tracking Transparency to Apple's ongoing legal battle over App Store policies with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Notably, Cook said that Epic Games' desire for Apple to let developers offer their own payment systems in apps "would make the App Store a flea market":At the...