App Store

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...

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...

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...

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,...

As of December 8, Apple has been requiring developers submitting new apps and app updates to provide privacy label information that outlines the data that each app collects from users when it is installed. Many app developers, such as Facebook, have complied and now include the privacy labels alongside their apps, but there's one notable outlier -- Google. Google has not updated its major ...

Apple's App Store saw unprecedented growth in 2020, grossing more than $64 billion in sales, according to a report by CNBC. The figure is up from an estimated $50 billion in 2019 and $48.5 billion in 2018. This is a significant growth of 28 percent in 2020, compared to growth of just 3.1 percent in 2019. Apple does not disclose how much revenue its ‌App Store‌ makes every year, but it...

Apple has today announced that New Year's Day saw a new single-day spending record of over $540 million on the App Store, as the company celebrated a number of highlights from its various services in 2020. Recapping 2020, Apple announced that the year's most downloaded apps were Zoom and Disney+, and games on the ‌App Store‌ "became more popular than ever." Apple revealed that developers...

Earlier today, Fast Company shared an article noting that Google has yet to update its iPhone and iPad apps to bring them in line with Apple's new App Store privacy labels requirement. Fast Company speculated that Google might be trying to delay revealing its privacy label data, but it turns out that's not the case. According to a report from TechCrunch, Google is not taking a stand against...

Last month, Apple introduced a new privacy section in the App Store to inform users about some of the data types that apps may collect, and whether that data is linked to them or used to track them. Developers have been required to provide this info to Apple when submitting new apps and app updates to the App Store since December 8, 2020. Interestingly, Fast Company noticed that Google has...

Apple device users spent a record $72 billion on the App Store in 2020, a 30% increase on app spending the previous year, according to a new Sensor Tower report. Globally, consumer spending on the App Store reached $72.3 billion, up 30.3 percent Y/Y from $55.5 billion in 2019. As in previous years, this exceeded the amount users spent on Google Play, which grew 30 percent Y/Y from $29.7...

Apple on Thursday removed nearly 39,000 apps from its Chinese App Store due to the apps lacking an official license from local regulators, reports Reuters. The report, which cites data from research firm Qimai, says that games affected by the cull included Ubisoft title Assassin's Creed Identity and NBA 2K20. According to Qimai, only 74 of the top 1,500 paid games on the China App Store...

A new report by Sensor Tower reveals that 2020 has been a record-setting year for worldwide spending on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, which collectively passed $100 billion in a single year for the first time ever in November. The trend of increased spending continued over Christmas, when consumers around the world spent an estimated $407.6 million across Apple's ‌App Store‌...

Apple today shared a new App Store ad on its YouTube channel in Japan ahead of the New Year. The brief 15-second video highlights various apps available on the App Store for productivity, connecting with others, and gaming. The ad emphasizes how the App Store can help people get off to a good start in 2021, complete with colorful animations. New Year or "Shōgatsu" is widely considered the...

Apple recently introduced a new Small Business Program that reduces the App Store's commission rate to 15% for developers earning up to $1 million per calendar year in net revenue from the sale of apps and in-app purchases. For developers exceeding the $1 million threshold, Apple's standard 30% commission rate still applies. Earlier this week, Apple began emailing eligible developers about...

The iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, and macOS Big Sur 11.1 updates that are live as of today introduce a new App Privacy labeling feature for the App Store and macOS ‌App Store‌, giving customers a way to determine what data an app collects about them before choosing to install it. Apple first introduced these labels at WWDC, and has given developers until now to prepare for them. Developers need to...

The developers behind the Brave browser today announced some changes for the iOS version of Brave, which are being implemented to comply with Apple's App Store rules. A new version of the Brave browser being released today for the iPhone and the iPad removes features that allowed people to earn rewards for browsing and to tip creators. Brave has a system that allows those using the browser...

Back in 2008, Jay Freeman first released Cydia as an app store designed for the iPhone, offering apps a few months before Apple had its own App Store. Since then, Cydia has served as an app repository for jailbroken iPhones and iPads, making it easy to install unauthorized software on compatible devices. Now Cydia is joining a growing cadre of developers accusing Apple of anticompetitive...

Both Apple and Google this week told developers that they need to remove X-Mode Social tracking software from all of their apps or risk a ban, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple and Google are aiming to prevent X-Mode Social from collecting location information from smartphones after it became clear that the company has provided data to U.S. defense contractors. Google is giving...

Apple today assured that its new requirement for privacy information on the App Store will apply equally to all iOS apps, including its own. This means that the dozens of Apple apps available through the App Store, such as Apple Books and Apple Podcasts, will display the same privacy "nutritional labels" as third-party apps. And for built-in iOS apps, like Messages, Apple says that it will...

Apple yesterday quietly expanded its Family Sharing App Store functionality, adding a new App Store toggle that allows family members to share in-app subscriptions with one another. Apple today confirmed that the functionality has now rolled out and that it's also applicable to in-app purchases. In an update for developers, Apple says that it's now possible for them to enable Family Sharing...

iPhone and iPad users who share apps with their families through Apple's Family Sharing feature can now share subscription apps as well. In the App Store settings under "Subscriptions," there's a "Share New Subscriptions" setting that appears to be enabled automatically, allowing subscription apps to be shared among family members. The new option is available on the current release version...

Apple today reminded developers to submit privacy information for their apps using App Store Connect, with that info set to be used for a new privacy label feature that will be added to each ‌App Store‌ app. Apple announced the new privacy feature during WWDC, and it will see apps providing specific details on the information that is collected from users when an app is downloaded. Apple has...

Apple last week announced the launch of a new App Store Small Business Program that will see the company lowering its ‌App Store‌ fees for small business owners and independent developers. On January 1, 2021, all developers who earn less than $1 million from the ‌App Store‌ will pay a 15 percent commission to Apple instead of the standard 30 percent. Apple today shared a press release that...

Apple in September tweaked its App Store rules surrounding in-app purchase requirements for realtime experiences, and as a result, apps that offer virtual events for more than a single person must use in-app purchases. Apple was originally requiring apps to comply starting in December 2020, but the deadline has now been pushed out until June 30, 2021.As the world fights COVID-19, we...