Apple Is Promoting Its Native Apps And Services In App Store Search Results
by Brent Dirks
October 31, 2013
Users searching for specific terms on their iOS 7 device are now greeted with Apple-specific advertising promoting the company’s stock apps and services.
The news was first picked up by MacStories after a tweet from Lukas Burgstaller.
Searching for specific terms in the App Store like “web,” “SMS,” or “movies,” will bring up an interstitial ad for Apple apps like Safari, Messages, and iTunes. Along with a description of the specific app or service, a link on the bottom allows users to access more information or open the app.
Using iTunes on a desktop computer didn’t show the promo ads.
Swiping to the left after the ad comes up then displays other apps for the specific search terms.
While some developers might be bothered by Apple doing this, I really don’t see any issue with how the campaign is being implemented.
There are so many new users to the iOS platform, a little education goes a long way. I would be more concerned, though, if Apple started to push iPhoto to the front of the search results when looking for terms like “photos.” As of now, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
For other news today, see: Apple Online Stores Begin Closing Down Ahead Of iPad Air Launch, Apple Tells App Developers Not To Advertise The Gold iPhone 5s, and The FAA Finally Relaxes The Rules On Portable Devices In Flight.