Get Ready for a Whole New iOS 11 App Store
While iOS 11 is full of new features and improvements, one of the biggest changes in the new software focuses a popular destination for most all iPhone and iPad users – the App Store. Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 11 after yesterday’s keynote, and the software will officially arrive to the public sometime this fall, more than likely along with a new iPhone.
But in the meantime, we’re taking a closer look at the redesigned iOS 11 App Store and how it will change the immensely popular marketplace.
Today
The Today tab will be updated daily with new apps and information.
Opening the App Store app will now bring users to the Today page.
The highly curated page will offer feature, interviews, videos, and more about games and apps.
Changing daily, the section will also feature new releases, exclusive app premieres.
Also featured in the App of the Day, Game of the Day, and The Daily List that highlights apps with a certain theme.
Overall, the page is well designed and looks great on the iPhone.
Games and Apps
Games now receive their own section of the App Store.
Probably the biggest change are the next two tabs — Games and Apps.
It’s no surprise that Games are receiving their own App Store section, the category is huge and keeps growing. The section features new games, top categories, curated collections of apps, app charts, and more.
The Apps tab is similar and spans the rest of the App Store. Interestingly, the charts on both pages only show apps that aren’t currently on your iPhone or iPad.
Individual app pages
The changes are evident even on the individual app pages.
And the changes have also come to each individual app page. Information including customer ratings, chart position, and accolades like Editors’ Choice will be much more prominent.
App developers will be able to highlight five app screenshots and three different videos of their title. That can also be localized for each country.
With the changes, Apple is also making in-app purchases easier to find. They will appear directly on an app page and when searching.
App Store editors can also select them to be featured in the Today, Games, and Apps section. When making an in-app purchase, users will automatically be taken to the app page or game to finish up.
Updates and Search
Search is markedly imrpoved with better and more precise results.
The last two tabs in the App – Updates and Search – are also vastly improved.
Updates looks similar to the individual app pages and the rest of the app. But the bigger changes are thankfully arriving in the Search feature.
Anyone looking for apps can now see the content in Today, Games and Apps. Searching by app name, category, developer, or topic actually brings up relevant results. That’s a noticaeable and welcomed change.
Long-term implications
As someone who consistently uses the App Store, the changes in iOS 11 are huge. It’s a complete redesign of the App Store and what Apple wants the marketplace to be in the future.
Instead of “solving” the search problem, Apple seems to be content with turning the App Store into Apple Music for apps with a focus on discovery. Whether that’s a good or bad thing for buyers, and more importantly developers, in the long-term will take to time to settle.
At least in the first beta version of iOS 11, Apple is doing a great job taking advantage of the redesigned store to showcase indie and smaller titles like Monument Valley 2. I hope that will definitely continue.
