App Store Discoverability

Comments criticize the poor search, filtering, and discovery mechanisms in Apple's App Store, which hinder users from finding apps and developers from gaining visibility without top rankings or ads.

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TL XX AppThemeStore UX tapscape.com MUCH DR marco.org PC GitHub app store app store apps discovery search discoverability apple apple app store apple app

Sample Comments

Tichy Dec 1, 2010 View on HN

A general problem of app stores. What is needed is better discovery methods and filters.

estel Jan 19, 2016 View on HN

How do you feel about discoverability in the app store?

saurik Jul 13, 2011 View on HN

The App Store offers exposure to a few hundred applications that are at the top of their category due to intentionally difficult to predict algorithms; relying on this mechanism for users discovering your app is asking for failure and makes about as much sense as making a web page and hoping that it appears on the front page of a website catalog/portal like Yahoo for the lifetime of the product. For 99.99% of the applications in the store, people are going to be finding out about it from online

philsnow Aug 24, 2016 View on HN

Discoverability is horrible, searching for the exact name of some apps doesn't return that app in the first page of results sometimes. Likewise, why are apps with 2 reviews ranked above apps with 2000?I've completely given up on using the app store app for finding apps, I just google and then hopefully there is a direct link to the app I'm looking for in the app store.

Apple App Store. Bad search, bad filters, bad discoverability and as developer: bad hurdles.

niftich Aug 24, 2016 View on HN

People often say 'the discoverability [in the App Store] is horrible', which, I believe is inexact wording, but largely results in the outcome you raise.It's not so much discoverability as in 'stumbling upon an arbitrary app', but more of learning about what that app does, and why it's something you want.Once you learn about a solution to a problem you may not even realize you had, you'll be a lot more likely to make a purchase. This is why app makers jum

serve_yay Feb 5, 2015 View on HN

It could be app search, pretty much everything about discovery on the App Store sucks right now.

bo1024 May 4, 2017 View on HN

I think your point relates to the discoverability problem the author mentioned. People mostly find or learn about apps through the App Store. So apps that get to the top of search results can get millions of downloads while similar but unlucky apps get almost nothing.

veidr Feb 3, 2015 View on HN

TL;DR -- Apple's App Store search and discoverability sucks.

Google app store has (had?) the category "new apps" so people can find and try out fresh developments. It brought me 400 download the first day (which lead to many more). Sorely miss this kind of discoverability on the app store. Also Apples search sucks.