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iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

develop-online.net

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Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#31

Post by program »

The 3 and 1/4 icons displayed on a single row is a bad idea. Not because it's bad UX but because it seems that the application doesn't cache any hidden icons. Every time I scroll the list that's a (very) small loading time that block the natural scroll.

Anyway I like the "See all" view (but I haven't used it from day one, I don't know way but it didn't catch my attention). Finally Apple has implemented infinite scroll. I found myself more inclined to continue to scroll the list part application #20.

On the old App Store you had to tap the "show 20 more" cell. For me It's a sort of psychological barrier. It's like saying "there are more apps, I don't show them to you cause they are not very good". I don't know if I explained it well.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#32

Post by lnanek2 »

Same exact thing happened with Google Play. Google removed the recently updated view almost everywhere, while at the same time claiming they were optimizing the store for visibility for everyone's apps. But they took away the one thing that was actually doing that.

Throw in how they added responding to comments, but only by an elite few with special marks by their names that aren't earned by numbers, and there you go, it's a pretty harsh world for the small guys.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#33

Post by click170 »

megablast wrote: post #28
robomartin wrote: post #11

I think the problem goes far deeper than this. Apple has never had good search and discovery technology across it's products. Searching using iTunes on the desktop isn't any better. I won't get into the details. I'm sure a lot of you share my sentiments. In many ways it is a parallel with Maps. Google has great search and great maps. Apple has bad search and now less-than-stellar maps. Trend?

itunes searching for apps works so much better than google play searching for apps. Google play search is an embarrassing joke. Searching for USA travel guides brings in french travel guides, spanish travel guides, and london maps.

Honestly I find it easier to go to Google.com and search for whatever your looking for appended with "android app". I'm surprised there's such a large difference in the quality of search between Google Play search and Google Search.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#34

Post by dominostars »

geuis wrote: post #19

How has anyone ever sold a product before? You market it. The App Store isn't the sole place you should be marketing your app. If you have ever counted on just releasing your app into the store and have it somehow gain traction with no other effort, you've always been doomed to failure. The App Store should be treated like a supermarket, after a fashion. You may get your product on the shelf, but simply relying on pe…

Having to spend more time and money marketing just to get my numbers to where they were is a disaster to me, as a developer. I'm not sure what you're getting at.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#35

Post by bad_user »

walru wrote: post #7

One of my main problems with the store is that the single card view doesn't even work well. Perhaps it's because I'm on an iPhone 4, but the loading time that comes with this new configuration absolutely destroys the experience for anyone wanting to find anything. Perhaps when we all have gigabit connections on our phones this card view will reign supreme, but until that point it's a completely short sighted attempt…

So the design on my iPad looks pretty good, they may have preferred the form factor of the iPad in the design process.

However I'm having the same issue with loading times on my 3GS connection. My 3GS connection is pretty good. I can watch Youtube videos over it. And yet the experience in the App Store app is not so good.

Don't know what's going on there, but I suspect they assumed most people open the App Store when connected to Wifi.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#36

Post by fpgeek »

click170 wrote: post #33
megablast wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

itunes searching for apps works so much better than google play searching for apps. Google play search is an embarrassing joke. Searching for USA travel guides brings in french travel guides, spanish travel guides, and london maps.

Honestly I find it easier to go to Google.com and search for whatever your looking for appended with "android app". I'm surprised there's such a large difference in the quality of search between Google Play search and Google Search.

Absolutely.

I have no idea why they haven't replaced whatever they're doing with: site:play.google.com

Then they would just need to resolve apps the way the Play Store already does when presented with a URL and tack on any appropriate filtering (country-level, carrier-level. etc.). This has been a problem for a long time (my standard suggestion used to include "site:market.android.com"). And Google has done a lot with the Play Store app in the interim, so there must be some constraint I'm missing. I just can't see what it is.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#37

Post by devcpp »

vvhn wrote: post #18
pedro-alejandro wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I miss him too. I bet he would have been pretty pissed at this design.

so everybody now knows exactly what Steve Jobs would or would not have done ( i.e. whatever you don't agree with ) ?

I think we are all just surprised there are so many design decisions we can't agree with, precisely with the first major update for iOS comes since Jobs died. Up until the iPhone 4, I don't think I've had any criticism towards the design of Apple products... since Jobs came back to Apple.

I don't think these are coincidences. Jobs may have been more than a good businessman. He was a source of inspiration.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#38

Post by kolinko »

walru wrote: post #7

One of my main problems with the store is that the single card view doesn't even work well. Perhaps it's because I'm on an iPhone 4, but the loading time that comes with this new configuration absolutely destroys the experience for anyone wanting to find anything. Perhaps when we all have gigabit connections on our phones this card view will reign supreme, but until that point it's a completely short sighted attempt…

I also use iPhone 4, but I'm glad the changes are here.

First - it's been years since the "new releases" view benefitted the developers. Currently, with the amount of new apps for iPhone, the devs get quickly buried on that list, and the launch benefit is minimal.

As for the single card view... It's not perfect, because you need to do more scrolling, but on the other hand - you no longer have to decide which app to pick based solely on the icon & name. Say you're looking for a weight tracker app. You can now quickly preview a couple of apps, and pick the one you like the most. In the past you'd have to tap every single one of them - nobody did that.

The new App Store, if anything, gives more opportunities to the small guy. There are now new ways to get discovered, and there is more emphasis on search. That's great.

Rules changed, and people complain. Some people just don't like changes imho.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#39

Post by kolinko »

Argorak wrote: post #29
geuis wrote: post #19

How has anyone ever sold a product before? You market it. The App Store isn't the sole place you should be marketing your app. If you have ever counted on just releasing your app into the store and have it somehow gain traction with no other effort, you've always been doomed to failure. The App Store should be treated like a supermarket, after a fashion. You may get your product on the shelf, but simply relying on pe…

Heres the problem with marketing: Say, I am a really big software company and release an app for my biggest video hosting platform anyone knows: "youtube". Everyone knows the exact name of the application, goes to the store, enters "youtube". And guess whats first? Not "Youtube", but "Video Downloader Super Lite". What use is good marketing if it is so hard to find things by _exact name_ on the store where you market…

Putting words into description won't make an app show up.

But aside from that - yeah, it sucks that some devs don't show for queries matching their exact names.

Re: iOS 6 App Store is a disaster for developers

#40

Post by 0x0 »

natrius wrote: post #25
niggler wrote: post #20

For all this talk about App Store discovery, why hasn't anyone set up an alternative means of discovery? After all, all you need is a link to the item on itunes. It should be theoretically easy to set up a mobile webpage with a list of indie apps, and with improved searching it'd be very easy to bootstrap such a site with at most a week's worth of effort.

That's what App.net was going to build (hence the name) until Facebook threatened to revoke API access if they didn't agree to an aquihire. Spreading via Facebook is pretty much required for something like that to take off, but Facebook has decided that they want to be in that business ( https://www.facebook.com/appcenter/ ).

Wow, I had no idea.

I guess that explains why they picked such an odd name for a twitter clone!

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