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 is updating App Store prices in nine regions

Apple has announced App Store price changes in nine regions that will come into effect in the next few days.

The company updates App Store prices to account for changes in foreign exchange rates or taxes.

In the following regions, the price of apps and in-app purchases will increase:

Bahrain: Increase of value-added tax from 5% to 10%Ukraine: New value-added tax of 20%Zimbabwe: New digital services tax of 5%

Apple says your proceeds will be adjusted...

13 January 2022 | App Stores

App Store Connect now shows analytics for in-app events

Developers can now access analytics for in-app events through App Store Connect.

In-app events such as game competitions, movie premieres, and livestreamed experiences can be great ways of driving user engagement. Events can also be showcased in the App Store to help gain new users:

(Credit: Apple)

Measuring the effectiveness of an in-app event has been more difficult than it should be. Apple wants to fix that.

This week, Apple announced that developers can...

7 January 2022 | Analytics

More developers earn $1M via the App Store than Google Play, but the gap is closing

A report from Sensor Tower finds that more developers still earn their first $1 million from the App Store than Google Play, but the gap is closing.

It’s been fairly common knowledge for some time now that, on average, developers earn more from the App Store over Google’s counterpart—despite the much larger global marketshare of the latter.

Android commands around 73 percent of the global smartphone market compared to 26 percent for iOS. However, Apple continues to...

23 December 2021 | Android

Swift Playgrounds 4.0 removes the need for a Mac to publish apps

Apple has released Swift Playgrounds 4.0, enabling users to build and submit their apps solely using an iPad.

Swift Playgrounds was initially released in 2016 as an educational tool and development environment for Apple’s latest native programming language, which was released a couple of years prior.

The iPad version of Swift Playgrounds arrived first before a macOS version was released last year. However, a Mac has always been required to actually publish an...

17 December 2021 | Development Tools

Google slashes its Play Store cut for more developers

Google has announced that it’s following the industry trend and slashing its cut of Play Store sales for more developers.

The previous 70/30 cut was once the industry standard for app stores but has faced increasing backlash over the years from both developers and regulators. Critics have long argued that the stores have abused their market position to take an unfair cut.

Epic Games was the first major player to disrupt the model with the launch of the Epic Store,...

25 October 2021 | Android

Huawei Developer Conference 2021: Building a thriving ecosystem ‘Together’

This year’s Huawei Developer Conference (HDC) has the theme of “Together” as the company calls on developers and its industry partners to help build a smart, safe, and flourishing ecosystem.

Huawei’s application store, AppGallery, is already one of the largest in the world. Earlier this year, Developer reported the store had enjoyed a 33 percent growth in monthly active users (MAUs) and distributed 83 percent more apps than over the previous 12 months.

AppGallery...

21 October 2021 | App Stores

Google is ditching Material Design components on iOS

Google is ditching Material Design components on iOS in favour of Apple’s own UIKit.

Material Design was introduced by Google in 2014 with the aim of unifying the company’s products across platforms and form factors. It uses tactile surfaces, bold graphic design, and fluid motion to create beautiful, intuitive experiences for users.

https://youtu.be/Q8TXgCzxEnw

According to Jeff Verkoeyen, Engineering Lead for Google Design on Apple’s platforms, the company...

13 October 2021 | Developer

HUMAN partners with InMobi to help tackle in-app ad fraud

Cybersecurity firm HUMAN Security has partnered with mobile advertising giant InMobi to help tackle fraudulent behaviour.

Mobile is projected to account for 75 percent of global ad spend by the end of 2021—offering huge opportunities for the industry, but also making it a major target for cybercriminals.

Kunal Nagpal, SVP and General Manager of the Publisher Platform and Exchange at InMobi, said:

“InMobi is committed to transparency, trust-based...

25 August 2021 | Platforms