A range of seemingly random apps in the App Store have been updated by Apple itself, though nothing has been shared about why, nor have there been changes in the codebases themselves.
Apple has been known to push updates to apps in its App Store, though they're usually to ensure legacy apps still work. On Monday, some users have noted both new and old apps have received an update direct from Apple.
According to a report from MacRumors based on a Reddit post, the updates don't appear to change anything about the app itself. The changes could be related to something on Apple's backend, or a specific API, but it is unclear.
The text for the app update reads: "This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included."
Users don't need to worry about these updates, as they seem to change nothing about the apps that were affected. Apple may share something about the updates at a later date.
Apple has always involved itself in app updates
Apple has a policy that it doesn't keep old apps that haven't received any updates for a long period of time. These rules have received a lot of criticism from various developers, especially those that work on video games.
Beyond the changes needed to some software across operating system changes, some utilities and games can go years without being touched. However, Apple's policy forces developers to put in extra work on apps that seemingly otherwise wouldn't need it.
In 2022, Apple removed 540,000 "abandoned" apps from the App Store. In 2016, Apple updated many old apps to display an Apple Watch icon.
Apple has made it its business to be very involved in the app update process. While it doesn't always insert itself directly into the app update process, it does from time to time, as we saw Monday.
