Kevin Bostic
Apple began pushing free content to its Apple Store iOS app on Friday, with users now able to download a typically paid app for free.
Some weeks ago, rumors began circulating that the Apple Store iOS app would begin pushing notable paid content to users for free, and that feature has gone live. The Apple Store app was updated just over a week ago in order to enable the feature.
The first paid app to get the free app showcase in the Apple Store app is Color Zen, a puzzle game that usually sells for $1. Users of the app can download Color Zen for free by going to the Stores section of the Apple Store app. Color Zen should appear directly under the listing for a user's local store, with the headline "A game for you. On us."
Future free content may include other apps, iBooks, and other iTunes media. Apple will be updating the free content offering each week.
Apple has for some time now been issuing updates for the iOS Apple Store app, adding support for Passbook last year, as well as for Siri. In March, Apple added the ability for the app to check in-store availability and different per-item delivery options for a single order. Most recently, Apple added push notifications to the app to alert users to changes in pricing on iPhones and when deliveries should have arrived.
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41 Comments
No free apps showing for me anywhere within the app. Maybe a US offer only? Edit Scratch that, restarted app and it showed up
This kind of commercialism is a bit out of character for Apple. In the short term it will probably result in more people installing the App Store App, but in the long term it will lower people's opinion of the brand. It's the CEOs job to look to the long term and the lower manager's job to look to the proportionally shorter term (depending on their level), so I wonder if Tim was properly consulted on this?
This kind of commercialism is a bit out of character for Apple. In the short term it will probably result in more people installing the App Store App, but in the long term it will lower people's opinion of the brand.
It's the CEOs job to look to the long term and the lower manager's job to look to the proportionally shorter term (depending on their level), so I wonder if Tim was properly consulted on this?
Commercialism? Lower opinion of the brand? They are giving away free apps. What are you talking about?
[quote name="ascii" url="/t/158854/apple-store-app-for-ios-now-giving-away-paid-apps-for-free#post_2372736"]This kind of commercialism is a bit out of character for Apple. In the short term it will probably result in more people installing the App Store App, but in the long term it will lower people's opinion of the brand. It's the CEOs job to look to the long term and the lower manager's job to look to the proportionally shorter term (depending on their level), so I wonder if Tim was properly consulted on this?[/quote] Seems out of character to me as well. A little too "Amazon free-app-of-the-day" like. No biggie but a bit of a surprise.
I don't really get what they're trying to do, get more people to install their Store app? Seems a pretty weak goal, I can't see that having people go in to Store app in order to get a free game is likely to result in them buying more Apple gear.
Just giving away from stuff from the main store will earn them more good will rather than setting up convoluted rewards.