Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/06/thursday-morning-news090616/
Brace yourselves, App Store changes are coming. The Verge talked to Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller about the changes, which break down into three main changes. App review times have been sped up to the point where 50% of submitted apps are reviewed within 24 hours, with 90% reviewed within 48 hours. Apple will also be introducing search ads as previously rumoured. Apple will also be introducing a subscription model for apps that means a better cut for developers if they can get and keep customers for longer than a year.
John Gruber says Apple started yesterday’s announcement by saying that Apple wanted to do something a little different by making the App Store change announcements ahead of WWDC, to give developers something to talk about at the conference. Gruber also covers a few more details about subscription-based pricing, search revamps and the introduction of paid ads, as well as vastly decreased app review times. MacStories says the new subscription pricing will begin to move apps into services, ensuring their sustained development.
Apple’s Search Ads beta is live now, and while it only appears to be for the US App Store, presumably search ads will apply to all App Stores regardless of region when they go live. The search ads page claims that over 65% of App Store downloads come directly from searches, and because search ads adhere to Apple’s privacy guidelines, user information remains private.
With all of the App Store news out of the way, we now turn our attention back to the upcoming WWDC. Of course, the event will be live-streamed, both via the Apple TV and on Apple’s website, so you can choose to turn in from the big screen at 3am on Tuesday morning next week.
Ars Technica has a rumour roundup for Apple’s second event of the year, which will probably see the introduction of new versions of iOS and OS X. As it turns out, we don’t really know what will be announced, as software rumours are generally harder to come by than hardware ones due to the lack of a leaky supply chain.
The Verge also covers their share of WWDC rumours, saying we can expect to see improvements to Siri, iOS, and even Apple Music. The big question will be if Apple decides to go ahead with a new naming convention for OS X this year, or whether it waits another year to bring it in line with the rest of the tvOS, watchOS, and iOS lineup.
An iOS wishlist from Six Colors consists of a Siri API, changes to the home and lock screens, as well as improvements to text editing and autocorrect.
Meanwhile, Ars thinks its time to modernise the Mac lineup, even if that means taking ideas from other PC manufacturers and incorporating them into the Mac design. They argue for SSDs as default in every Mac across the range, and doubling down on their products like the Mac mini and Mac Pro.
MacRumors claims it’s still possible we’ll see updated MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs this month, going as far as to say they might even come with USB-C.