Apple opens registrations for next App Store Sessions

Apple developers wanting to optimise their listing and marketing strategies can now register for the next round of App Store Sessions.

The sessions connect developers with Apple’s experts to learn more about all things App Store, including:

Improving your listing pagesAttracting customersTesting marketing strategiesImplementing subscriptionsSuccessfully using TestFlight for beta tests

App Store Sessions were first introduced in February to significant interest. They...

27 July 2022 | Analytics

Judge rejects Apple’s bid to dismiss lawsuit by Cydia’s creator

California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied Apple’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the company by Cydia’s creator.

Cydia was a third-party app store which, as you will be well aware, is officially a no-no in Apple’s books. The store was popular among the “jailbreak” community and even pre-dates the official App Store.

The creator of Cydia, Jay Freeman (AKA ‘Saurik’), ended up shutting his app store down in...

30 May 2022 | App Stores

Huawei AppGallery vulnerability gives away paid apps for free

A vulnerability has been discovered in Huawei’s AppGallery that enables paid apps to be downloaded for free.

Huawei claims that AppGallery is now the third-largest app store in the world—serving over 600 million Huawei device users in over 170 countries/regions.

Dylan Roussel, an Android developer, wanted to know how Huawei’s APIs worked. He figured out that one API took an app’s package name as a parameter and returned a JSON object with the details of the...

19 May 2022 | Android

Apps will soon need to be submitted to the App Store using Xcode 13

Apple has reminded developers that apps will soon need to be submitted to the App Store using Xcode 13.

From 25 April 2022, Apple will only accept the submission of apps that are built using the latest version of its IDE.

“iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS apps submitted to the App Store must be built with Xcode 13, which includes the SDKs for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8,” wrote Apple on its developer site.

Apple goes on to tout how Xcode 13 enables developers...

16 March 2022 | App Stores

Microsoft sets out to woo regulators with ‘Open App Store Principles’

Microsoft is getting ahead of potential new laws governing app stores by announcing its Open App Store Principles.

Last week, Developer reported on Apple’s latest fight against such legislation after the company sent a letter to US lawmakers urging them to reject S. 2710—a bill that would force Apple to open its notorious “walled garden” and enable the sideloading of apps.

Microsoft has managed to avoid being the focus of high-profile antitrust investigations in...

10 February 2022 | App Stores

Apple letter urges lawmakers to reject sideloading bill

Apple has written a letter urging lawmakers to reject a bill that would force the company to allow any apps to be installed on its mobile operating systems.

The letter, addressed to Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin and Republican Chuck Grassley, claims the proposed bill will hurt user privacy and security if passed.

In question is the S. 2710 bill that would allow software downloaded from the web or other sources to be “sideloaded” on iOS.

“Sideloading...

4 February 2022 | App Stores

CAF report highlights developers’ plight from anti-competitive practices

A report from the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) highlights the difficulties that developers face due to anti-competitive practices.

CAF is an independent nonprofit with over 60 member companies that advocates for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem. Epic Games, which has regularly made headlines for its court battles against Apple over alleged anti-competitive practices, is one of CAF’s founding members.

The industry group is currently...

1 February 2022 | Android

App Store apps can now be published as ‘unlisted’

Apple has announced that apps can now be published as "unlisted" to the App Store.

Apps that are unlisted will only be accessible via a direct link and cannot be discovered through a typical search, categories, recommendations, or chart position.

Here are a couple of provided examples where an unlisted app could be useful:

Limited audiences (such as part-time employees, franchisees, partners, business affiliates, higher-education students, or conference attendees)...

31 January 2022 | App Stores

Developers can now create custom App Store offer codes

Apple is finally letting developers create their own custom offer codes for in-app subscriptions.

In 2020, Apple introduced the ability to generate offer codes for in-app subscriptions. However, there were two major limitations: they were randomly generated and were for one-time use.

On the Apple Developer website, the company announced that it’s lifting both limitations so developers can create offer codes like BRINGONSUMMER that can be used for as long – or,...

21 January 2022 | App Stores

Apple vows to collect App Store commission even through alternative payment systems

Apple is being forced to support alternative payment systems in a growing number of regions but has made clear that it still intends to collect a commission.

Historically, Apple has charged a 30 percent commission on App Store sales—including in-app purchases and subscriptions. In 2021, Apple is estimated to have generated 85.1 billion in gross app revenue globally.

Apple has faced more scrutiny than most platform holders due to its “walled garden” that does not...

18 January 2022 | App Stores