- Apple reserves the right to refuse or limit the quantity of any device for any reason. In the Apple Store: Offer only available on presentation of a valid photo ID. Value of your current device may be applied toward purchase of a new Apple device. Offer may not be available in all stores. Some stores may have additional requirements.
- Sep 11, 2020.
- Apr 03, 2020.
- Apr 06, 2020.
In recent weeks and months, Apple has been catching some heat for its App Store rules, particularly as they apply to gaming apps. Not only has Apple come under fire from Epic for the fact that it takes a 30% cut from each in-app purchase, but the company has also drawn criticism from Facebook and Microsoft, as its App Store policies have made it impossible to get their game streaming apps – Facebook Gaming and Project xCloud, respectively – on iOS devices. Today, Apple updated its App Store guidelines, and while the new rules cover a number of different apps, there are a few specifically for game streaming.
Apple's updated App Store guidelines can be read in full over on the company's developer site, but as that spans pages and pages of text, it's probably easier to look at a changelog for this update that Apple published elsewhere. Apple has implemented new rules regarding App Clips, widgets, extensions and notifications, requiring that those all be related to the content or functionality of the app they belong to. Apple also now requires that 'all App Clip features and functionality must be included in the main app binary,' and says that App Clips can't contain advertising.
Apple has also relaxed some rules about in-app purchase requirements for apps that offer person-to-person experiences, which have become much more important in the age of COVID-19. Apple's new rules say that apps which offer one-on-one services can charge using payment methods other than in-app purchases. Those that offer 'one-to-few' and 'one-to-many realtime experiences,' however, have to continue using in-app purchases to charge users.
Mar 21, 2011.
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With these changes, Apple is now allowing web-based tools to offer free standalone companion apps without the need for in-app purchases. So, your web provider can give you access to a standalone email app or VOIP app without rolling some kind of in-app purchase into that app. Furthermore, Apple has put in place new rules regarding in-app pop-ups that make you watch ads, request that you review the app, or click on advertisements:
3.2.2(vi): Apps should not require users to rate the app, review the app, watch videos, download other apps, tap on advertisements, enable tracking, or take other similar actions in order to access functionality, content, use the app, or receive monetary or other compensation, including but not limited to gift cards and codes.
Apps offering personal loans are now subject to some rather big restrictions too, with Apple saying that they can't charge a maximum APR higher than 36% and can't require that people pay back their loan in full in 60 days or less. The company also says that these apps must 'clearly and conspicuously disclose all loan terms, including but not limited to equivalent maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and payment due date.'
Arguably the biggest changes Apple made today apply to game streaming. Facebook has made clear its frustrations with App Store restrictions regarding its Facebook Gaming app, while Microsoft hasn't been able to bring Project xCloud to iOS because of those same restrictions. Even Google Stadia has bumped up against these guidelines, which means there's a distinct lack of game streaming present on the iOS App Store.
While these new guidelines are meant to ease game streaming restrictions, we're not sure how much they're going to help. Apple's new rules for game streaming are as follows:
3.1.2(a): Games offered in a streaming game service subscription must be downloaded directly from the App Store, must be designed to avoid duplicate payment by a subscriber, and should not disadvantage non-subscriber customers.
Elsewhere in its changelog, Apple says that 'Each streaming game must be submitted to the App Store as an individual app so that it has an App Store product page, appears in charts and search, has user ratings and review, can be managed with ScreenTime and other parental control apps, appears on the user's device, etc.' Game streaming apps can offer a catalog app separately that points to these App Store listings, but if Microsoft and Stadia were looking to offer one, all-inclusive app that features their entire streaming catalogs, it looks like they won't be able to do that.
According to Microsoft, Project xCloud will offer 100+ games when it launches as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate next week, so in order for Microsoft to publish that app on iOS, it would not only need some kind of mainline Xbox Game Pass app for iOS, but also an individual App Store listing for each of the 100+ games on the service so Apple can review and approve each one. It seems those App Store listings don't necessarily have to host the full game, but CNBC notes that they'll need some kind of basic functionality.
It's hard to imagine Microsoft, Google, or Facebook opting to bring their services to iOS even after these updated guidelines. While Stadia has a traditional storefront that wouldn't see much in the way of rotation, it still seems like a huge endeavor to publish listings for each game it sells. When you consider that games rotate in and out of the Game Pass library each month, maintaining App Store listings for each game on the service becomes even more of a chore for Microsoft.
Still, services like Game Pass and Stadia now have a way to get on the App Store, but the question now is whether Google, Facebook, and Microsoft will think getting their streaming services on iOS will be worth the trouble of complying with Apple's guidelines. Apple has indeed given these companies an in regarding the App Store, but it's done so in a very complicated way, seemingly to ensure that it has granular control over what's offered on iOS for better or worse.
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Every developer has one of the most difficult questions posed after completing an excellent Android app: which App Store will generate the most money? Most will opt for the $25 route of Google Play as it has one of the most guaranteed audiences. However, there are also other options that may come up.
Best App Store Alternative for Android
The biggest issue with choosing this standard option is that the competition is fierce. Below is listed some of the best alternative Android App Stores around so that you will get access to more localized and specialized customer audiences.
Besides rarely charging for listing an app there are several more advantages for choosing an alternative to Google Play:
- More options for promotion
- In our list of app stores for Android, you can find many platforms that can give a boost for the app by featuring it as an app of the day or provide app owner with some money-saving offers for advertising.
- Relevant recommendations
Other Android app stores offer a list of recommended apps that are not displayed on Google Play top ten charts. - Curated list
Some of the Play store alternatives have a very narrow focus and a small selection of apps that have been filtered by topic, purpose, quality, age, etc. - Local portals
Some of the different app stores cater to countries and offer localized apps that are not presented somewhere else.
Looking for Android app developers?
SlideME
As a long-term player in the app store business, it has been running even longer than Google Play, SlideME is the most regularly found app store on Android devices after the main competitor.
Biggest Advantage: Payment can be made via PayPal, and the app store only charges 20% for each purchase of your app.
Website: slideme.org
Amazon Appstore
While not as old as Google Play or SlideME, the Amazon Appstore is one of their most successful competitors. With the introduction of Kindle Fire, the Fire Phone and a range of Android devices running Fire OS, there is a growing market for apps sold through Amazon.
There are some issues with running apps through the Fire OS but the majority of developers only need a short time to get their app ready for Amazon. In fact, many Android apps already run perfectly fine on Fire OS.
Biggest Advantages: It is possible to publish HTML5 and web apps on the Amazon Appstore. It is a growing marketplace with hundreds of thousands of apps and a large customer base. The Amazon Appstore is also remarkably easy to navigate for all developers.
Website: amazon.com/mobile-apps
1Mobile Market
For a different approach to generating a successful app is focusing only on the popularity of the app. 1Mobile Market is only for free apps so it is a great place to upload an app to test it out on the market.
Read also: Cost to develop an app
The marketplace itself costs nothing to upload your app but this doesn't mean it is full of terrible apps. Each app has to pass through a selection process to check for malware and to keep a high quality of 1Mobile Market apps.
Biggest Advantage: A useful recommendation system based on preferences means that apps can become successful very quickly. With over 100 million installs and hundreds and thousands of apps listed, it is a great place to upload your app.
Website: mobile.1mobile.com Fun mac apps.
Samsung Galaxy Apps
From the company that manufacturers the most Android phones it is no surprise that Samsung has developed their own app store. Compared to other app stores, Samsung Galaxy Apps has a relatively small number of apps but this can be positive for apps to stand out.
Biggest Advantage: Every Samsung Galaxy device has the app store installed so there is an immediate and large customer base.
Website: www.samsung.com
Mobile9
This app store can be compared to a social network. Mobile9 has millions of active users and each one has the ability to comment on and share their installed apps. Publishing an app is free and with such a wide user base it can mean great results for a well-developed app.
Mac laptop name. Biggest Advantage: There is a huge download rate with one of the smallest number of developers; getting noticed with Mobile9 can be relatively easy.
Website: mobile9.com
Opera Mobile Store
With a direct link with Yandex, Opera Mobile Store has access to almost the entire Russian app customer market by all their apps being present in the Yandex App Store. The store has over 100 million visits every single month, and there are over a million downloads each day.
Biggest Advantage: To get access to this huge audience is completely free. Opera Mobile Store, however, does take 30% of any sales, but it is worth it for the sales this app store generates.
Website: apps.opera.com
Mobango
A base of millions of customers and thousands of downloads per day; Mobango is a forerunner for a Google Play alternative. It has a relatively small app total in its store so it isn't too difficult to become one of its top downloaded apps.
Other App Stores For Apple Free
Biggest Advantage: Uploading your app is completely free and no percentage is taken.
Website: mobango.com
F-droid
For a more open approach to apps, one of the best alternatives is F-droid. The entire site and app store is run by volunteers and relies on donations. It only allows free apps and has a policy of not pushing apps that include paid add-ons or adverts.
Biggest Advantage: With a strong customer base and absolutely no costs there is nothing to lose by uploading your app to this store and testing out its popularity.
Website: f-droid.org
GetJar
This app store actively encourages their developers to use their freemium model with included adverts and in-app currency. GetJar Gold is one of the largest virtual currencies in use and is available to millions of users.
Biggest Advantages: 30 million users and a great recommendation service that allows for quick discovery of new apps.
Website: getjar.com
Takeaway
Choosing the best alternative Android market may seem to be a tough task. Every store has its pros and cons. You can find free app store for Android or the one that charges a fee, some of them a very specific, others vice versa very popular and highly competitive.
Other App Stores For Apple Free
Neither of these best free app markets can 100 percent replace a Google Play, they can become an additional channel to drive more downloads.
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