201–210 of 222 posts
That's great news, and can only lead to, if nothing else, better informed users and a more engaged developer.
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10.3 is on current new devices, so it takes affect now for all new iPhones and iPads. Later, it will also affect existing ones.
10.3 is in beta and the first beta was released to developers yesterday. That link is to pre-release documentation.
As an indie developer that has a lot invested in the App Store - this is really, really, great. It doesn't matter how much effort you put into making an app that is polished, well thought out, and one of the best out there - there will always be reviews like 'App gets stuck downloading' or 'App doesn't support x' (when x is clearly stated as being a paid addition). The ability to respond to reviews should more clearl…
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I've done a similar thing, but getting people to review is like pulling teeth. We've tried plenty ways to make this happen: 1. append a footer in the email asking for a review Finding: People ignore it. 2. include custom copy in the emails asking for a review People say yes yes, and then most do nothing. 3. The annoying rate us with stars popup and redirect to appstore. People rate 5 stars inapp, and then close down…
also you cant sign in into AppStore with touch id. you have to enter your password. this is ridiculous considering i can pay only with my finger, but i can't rate.
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I thought time-limited trials were not permitted in the Mac App Store? How did this get through the review process?
The app itself cannot expire, but functionality unlocked within the app can expire so long as the app remains useful--or the app is based on subscriptions, in which case you can make the expired app do nothing at all. In the case of OmniGraffle 7 the free functionality that it retains after the trial expires is that the app can continue to be used as a free viewer for OmniGraffle documents (in much the same way as pe…
Are you aware of any other Mac apps that use this model, or any rejections for the same?
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> that you're using for free Rude assumption. I always, as a matter of principle, buy the "remove ads" IAP if I use an app regularly. Even if I didn't it wasn't my choice to charge nothing for the app. That's on the developer. Apple doesn't owe you a living, I don't owe you a living. The state of the app store has been known for years now and you've had a long time to decline to participate. Your problems with Apple…
>Your problems with Apple are not my problems as a user. My problems with Apple are exactly your problems as a user. If you want the apps that don't ever ask for reviews, then search past the first 100 that show up. Almost no one does. You'll find them there, because they don't rank at the top of the results. Guess how much money those apps make? Not enough to pay for development. It's a power law distribution. At th…
It's unlikely and rare for an app developed exclusively for native iOS, with no existing user base built on desktop or physical business presence in the real world, to ever have a chance of succeeding. The fault for misguided expectations lies entirely with the developers, not Apple or its users. The real purpose of the App Store - that is, what a majority of users find valuable - is having mobile apps for brand names and services they are already acquainted with.
Your primary install base should be from users explicitly searching for your app by name because they already interact with you elsewhere. If you're depending on people to "discover" your app without having ever heard of you, then you are choosing to gamble and attempting to game a system that every other gambler is trying to game right alongside you.
The only real problem here is developers trying to use mobile apps as either a) a get-rich-quick scheme, or b) feeling entitled to earn full-time income solely from their dream job of working as their own boss from home. The App Store is a cesspool of every developer who figured out how to install XCode acting like they automatically deserve to win the windfall lottery. If you choose to develop apps that have no business plan behind them other than "hope I get popular through a closed-garden algorithm", the resulting fallout has nothing to do with Apple or device owners.
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When an app nags me for a review, it really gets in the way and hinders my usage of it. A bad review is a totally legitimate response to that. If this is your only solution to biased reviews, then you have no solution, you just have a way to move the problem around some. If you don't want silly one-star reviews complaining about the prompt, don't interrupt people when they're trying to get something done.
>>When an app nags me for a review, it really gets in the way and hinders my usage of it. A bad review is a totally legitimate response to that. Sure, so subtract one star from your regular review. A one-star review is a grossly disproportionate and unfair response. I mean I hate being nagged as much as the next guy but let's face it: the only reason these apps are begging for reviews is because Apple store discovera…
I will never understand this complaint. If you are depending on people to "discover" your app, you have no business plan and should never have developed the app in the first place. The majority of useful apps are not "discovered" - they are searched for by name by users who already interact with the company via their web service, desktop app, and/or real-world business.
I don't understand why developers, trying to jump on the get-rich-quick or "be my own boss working from home" bandwagon, are so surprised that there's no such thing as an algorithm that is going to give their one app any visibility over the other 90% of similarly unwanted apps vying for the same treatment.
Build a business outside of iOS that makes money providing value to its users. Then add an iOS app as a convenience and incentive for mobile users to continue doing business with you. The percentage of apps released solely to try and "make it big" which will ever do so is laughably small. Ignoring that fact and then complaining that the system is unfair shows a complete lack of common sense. Being capable of simply developing an app does not entitle one to earn a living doing so.
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Please don't give an app a 1 star review just because they ask for a review. Apple and Android have made ratings incredibly important, and the vast majority of happy users never take the time to review. You get some happy users rating, and a disproportionate number of unhappy users. Asking people (at an appropriate time) is the only way to level the field. We've had a few 5.0 releases of our iOS app, but usually a fe…
It's not gaming the system. If the user is unhappy, leaving a review won't make them happy. Providing support via some other mechanism to try and fix their issue, that's what makes them happy. If the user is already happy, they don't need support. But maybe they'd like to leave a review to tell other people that they're happy.
Fair enough, if that's the way you feel, but if that's really what you want ... put it on the app page, not some off-store forum. I question your sincerity.
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Please don't give an app a 1 star review just because they ask for a review. Apple and Android have made ratings incredibly important, and the vast majority of happy users never take the time to review. You get some happy users rating, and a disproportionate number of unhappy users. Asking people (at an appropriate time) is the only way to level the field. We've had a few 5.0 releases of our iOS app, but usually a fe…
The people responding to you don't understand that without asking for reviews, your app will just die. Apple needs to stop nuking reviews/stars on every release (give us the option!), then we'd stop asking for reviews.
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I review every app that annoys me with a review popup, and voice my opinion about my most recent memory of the app (the annoying popup, 1 star). Seems like enough people have started doing it that app developers no longger do this that much, at least on Android. There was even an article how to properly beg for reviews. Boils down to: * Do it after you have delighted the user, not during startup. * Do it respectfully…
It seem suboptimal to sabotage the sales and marketing of apps you use on a regular basis by leaving 1 star reviews. This is what I meant by keep the developer eating.... and providing updates.