AppleInsider Staff
According to reports late Monday, Apple may be planning on rolling out a new app discovery feature for the iOS App Store as users have spotted a new option that suggests terms related to a given search.
The new feature, first spotted by developer Olga Osadcha, appears while conducting a search in the App Store app. Currently, the "Related" suggestions appear to be limited to iPhones running iOS 7.1 or higher and is not showing up on the iPad or desktop versions of iTunes.
As seen in the example above, when a user enters a keyword like "password manager," the App Store recommends a number of related search terms in a row directly below the search box. Clicking on one of the suggestions open a new pane populated with apps corresponding to the selected search term. It looks as though results are commonly used phrases possibly pulled from popular keywords or phrases queried by other users.
Previously, App Store discovery was restricted to a Related subsection within an app's preview card. The section is usually filled with other apps from the same developer, popular titles within a given category and a "customers also purchased" list.
In 2012, Apple acquired app search engine Chomp. Shortly after the purchase, Apple brought Chomp-style "app cards" to iOS 6, but the company has yet to incorporate the erstwhile service's powerful recommendation and discovery features.
At the time of this writing, access to the "Related" menu bar is sporadic, suggesting Apple is testing the functionality ahead of a more formal rollout.
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
24 Comments
Apple bought Chomp, an app search engine, in Feb 2012, reportedly for $50MM. Looks like we're seeing more robust integration now.
HERE’S A RADICAL IDEA, APPLE.
WHY NOT HAVE SUBCATEGORIES IN YOUR STORE TO BOOST APP DISCOVERY.
BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THAT’S SOMETHING YOU COULD DO.
SIX YEARS AGO.
I don’t have a clue how long it has been since I’ve even used the App Store. There is no app discovery. You’re digging for buried treasure and run into titanium at 3”.
Looks cool. Go Apple.
Apple really need to start stealing ideas from Amazon and Steam. There's so much more that they could do.
I also wish they would formalise a demo mechanism for apps akin to Xbox Live Arcade. I know it can be done via IAP but a lot of users get angry if they don't realise that they're only download a limited version of the app for free.
[quote name="Tallest Skil" url="/t/171518/apple-testing-related-app-store-search-results-to-boost-app-discovery#post_2499500"][CENTER][U][I][B]HERE’S A RADICAL IDEA, APPLE.[/B][/I][/U][/CENTER] [CENTER][U][I][B]WHY NOT HAVE SUBCATEGORIES IN YOUR STORE TO BOOST APP DISCOVERY.[/B][/I][/U][/CENTER] [CENTER][U][I][B]BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THAT’S SOMETHING YOU COULD DO.[/B][/I][/U][/CENTER] [CENTER][U][I][B]SIX YEARS AGO.[/B][/I][/U][/CENTER] [CENTER]:mad: [/CENTER] I don’t have a clue how long it has been since I’ve even used the App Store. There [I]is[/I] no app discovery. You’re digging for buried treasure and run into titanium at 3”. [/quote] If you're unhappy with Apple they must be fecking it up. But you are totally correct. Discovery is dire in the App Store. It's just search and charts. In the movies store they do better - but not much.