5 Major Changes in the iOS 11 App Store to Boost App Discoverability

This time iOS 11 is coming with new innovations and features. Upgrades no one thought would come in such a small time frame. Whether it’s the ARKit that has added tremendous capabilities in app development or the new App Store that will potentially boost app discoverability and build a platform where new apps can compete net in net with leading ones. The iOS 11 has opened gates to new opportunities. But like every other opportunity, the benefit goes to those who are actually aware of it, at the right time. Whether you want to develop a new app or want to work on your existing applications, you need to optimize it for discovery. Without discovery, you won’t reach anywhere with your app. But to optimize for discovery you need to know where to optimize. Thankfully we have got that covered. In this article, you will know what are the major changes in the new iOS 11 App Store and where to optimize for better app discovery.

Read More: Know the primary reasons leading to app store rejection

Major changes in the iOS 11 app store and where you should optimize for better app discovery:

1. New opportunities with new tabs:

Unlike iOS 10, the new iOS 11 is coming with three new tabs which will replace the existing featured, categories and top charts. These new tabs aim at improving app discoverability and suggestions. Now Apple has decided to give a boost to apps and games that are worth everyone’s attention.

a) Today:

The first and primary change is the revamped home page called “Today”. This page showcases a featured app or game of the day. How to tips, stories of successful uses of apps, how-to articles etc. The aim of this page to showcase apps and stories to make app store more engaging and user-friendly. Since the number of featured apps and games is reduced to one it going to be a lot more difficult to make it to that spot.

b) Games:

According to Statistica, games are the most popular category on the app store. So it is obvious for Apple to bank on it. In the new iOS 11, games have gained an extra advantage over the previous display on iOS 10 app store. Now you can directly navigate to games tab and explore the wide range of games based on free, paid and top games chosen by editors.

c) Apps:

Just like games, apps will have their very own page.  The classification will also be similar. The whole point of separating apps from games is to simplify search and boost the traction for new releases. The apps page will highlight only some key aspects of the app like name, icon, subtitle(more on that later), and the get button.

Read More: How to save your apps from app store rejection?

2. More fierce competition on the search results:

The search results are much more competitive and enticing. Now you can show up to three previews in the search results and the space given is reduced. The primary aim now is to minimise the content size so as to give more space to competitive apps to showcase newcomers and give alternative solutions.

Another add-on is the chart position. If an app or game ranks among the top apps then its rank will also be displayed along with the icon and description. This will help users identify top players in the market.

3. More challenging to manage content:

The types of content involved in managing and listing apps have been increased but at the same time, there are a number of limitations being imposed. The length of the app title is reduced from 50 characters to just 30 characters. To compensate for that a new field, 'Subtitle' is being added to showcase with the same limit of 30 characters to give a chance to developers to give more information to the users. This will be visible in search results so make it count.

The app description will though remain as it was before but now you can update it only when you launch new versions. Another field, called promotional text has been added that consists of 170 characters and you will have the freedom to edit it anytime.

4. Better and more powerful previews:

The app previews will now give space for 3 promotional videos of 30 seconds each for portraying the app. These videos will be on autoplay but will be muted by default. It is up to you to create a preview engaging enough to keep the viewers hooked.

In the preview itself, the user will have the choice to make in-app purchases. These would include in-app purchases and paid add-ons. The limit of these promotional purchases is increased to 20 which will bring more focus on purchases and can ideally help boost revenues.

Read More: Besides App Store changes, Apple has also launched ARKit to help in developing augmented reality apps. Google also catched up and launched ARCore to compete with the Apple. Read our complete take on the difference between these two platforms which one is winning.

5. Relief in App Ratings:

Till iOS 10 the app ratings were based on the latest release. This created a very big issue as there was always a risk of losing app reputation because of a mistake in newer versions. Additionally, the developers had to procure ratings again and again. Now in the new iOS 11, developers will have the option to select whether they want a cumulative rating which accounts for previous versions of app as well or to just focus on the newest release.

Another relief Apple brought with the new App Store, is the ability to privately respond to negative feedback and reviews. If the issue is resolved then the reviewers will have the option to reflect their changed opinion.

By evaluating these points, you can ensure that the content of your app is perfectly optimized to boost your app’s discoverability and generate more traction. We at NewGenApps have the expertise in developing mobile apps and helping them gain traction from targeted users. If you want help in optimizing your apps then feel free to contact us.