The Transport Guy: Apple's plan to fix the App Store isn't good enough

Steve Kovach June 08, 2016 at 12:01PM

Big changes are coming to the Apple App Store this year.

Soon, whenever you search for something in the App Store, you'll see an ad for an app related to your search in addition to the standard list of results.

This, Apple says, will make discovering apps easier for the user while helping developers stand out in the sea of 1.5 million apps out there.

In theory, it's a win-win-win situation. Apple makes more money from developers. Developers who can't get featured on the main page of the App Store or whip up some friendly press can finally get noticed. And users should have an easier time finding the app they want.

But it may not be so great in reality.

App Store search has always been a problem. And that problem has been chronicled over and over and over since 2008. Sometimes brand-new apps don't appear in results for several hours. Sometimes you have to cycle through several pages of search results to find the app you're looking for. In fact, App Store search completely broke down a few weeks ago. Whereas Google's search algorithms are seemingly magical in their ability predict what website you're looking for, Apple's App Store search feels like sifting through a library's card-based Dewey Decimal System.

In an interview with The Verge, Apple's SVP in charge of marketing Phil Schiller didn't mention any significant improvements coming to the App Store search, but he did mention it has improved over the years. (He declined to say how, though.) Instead of radically improved search, users will get one clearly marked ad for a related app at the top of each search. Other than that, it's the same frustrating results you're used to. Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

There are several problems with Apple's new move.

For one, it means as a user, you'll still have trouble finding the app you want unless that app hits the search jackpot or can afford to pay Apple for an ad. It also means richer companies that can afford to buy ads will have an immediate advantage over scrappy startups light on cash.

That means out of the 1.5 million apps in the App Store, you still might not be able to find the one you're looking for, even though other apps paid to show up in search results. That's great for Apple. That's great for some developers with deep pockets. But it's not always great for you.

Apple's goal should be to always bring you the best app when you search, not the app that paid the most money to appear at the top of search results.

This is an issue Google has always grappled with in its web search results. Yes, ads appear at the top of your Google searches, but the standard list of results are democratized from Google's excellent algorithm that's designed to give you what you want above all other interests.

There's no indication Apple intends to do the same with the App Store.

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Apple's plan to fix the App Store isn't good enough from Business Insider: Steve Kovach