Roger Fingas
Apple on Wednesday informed developers that it's removing three sections from the iOS App Store, including the Catalog category, and two Games subcategories, Dice and Educational.
Any catalog apps will automatically be migrated to the Shopping category on Nov. 6, though developers can also choose a relevant category of their own, Apple said. Dice and Educational games are being moved under the general Games umbrella, though there are numerous other genres available such as Board, Card, Casino, Family, Puzzle, and Strategy.
The reorganization is presumably an attempt to cut back on niche and/or redundant categories. While educational games are popular on the App Store, for instance, they would naturally fit under other subcategories as well.
Apple launched a redesigned App Store in tandem with last month's release of iOS 11, adopting changes like a card metaphor and new "Today," "Games," and "Apps" tabs. On Sept. 12 the company took the radical step of stripping the App Store from iTunes, leaving iPhones, iPads, and iPods as the only way of managing iOS apps.
The company has regularly struggled with how to highlight the best titles on the App Store while simultaneously making it easy to discover apps most connected to a person's needs. This has led to multiple revamps of the App Store since it was introduced in July 2008.
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2 Comments
I presume it still has no specific category for music-making apps...?
I thought this would get a rise out of TS. He's always been in favour of more categories and sub-categories. The fact that they are merging categories should be pissing him off.