The news that Apple may have alter its ranking algorithm is rather a boastful deal for developers large and minor , which plausibly excuse both the current wave of hand - wringing over the rumor alteration as well as Apple ’s reserve to talk over the matter .
As with all changes , if Apple actuallyisup to something , there will be winners and losers .
For developers , App Store rankings are an important dual - purpose tool . As a data point , they are useful for empathize how well an app is doing in copulation to its contention ; more significantly , however , high emplacement in the ranking is the easiest way to get your product in front of potential buyer and can have a significant burden on sales agreement .
plainly , rankings are utile to the end user as well : the various charts , which currently provide a snapshot of popularity free-base on either number of copies downloaded or revenues , are a great way to discover the apps that are creating the most buzz among fellow App Store user .
The current ranking algorithm , as it is commonly realize , is based on the number of transcript that an app sells . Although Apple has never released any specific sales figures associated with the spot of an app in the App Store ’s charts , it has been widely gauge that , as an app climb higher in the Top-100 sales chart , its sale increase at an exponential rate .
Because the chart are based on sale , climb them requires a big marketing effort on the part of a developer — something comfortable to accomplish for a large company than it is for a small , independent house .
But one could make the full stop that app sales are onlyoneof the indicator of how democratic an app really is — how many times , for instance have you bought an app only to launch it once or twice before bury about it , or even blue-pencil it ? This is where the supposed novel dominion could come into play . By supposedly mix metric like the amount of time a user expend on an app , or the headliner ratings that the app receives from those who download it , Apple may be trying to give insight into the longer - full term note value of App Store oblation .
These adjustments , in turn , would make gaming the store ’s charts much more hard , potentially leveling the playacting athletic field for all developers . With the old system , a massive sale — like the one Electronic Arts did around the 2010 vacation season — has the potential to greatly skew the ranking — and , therefore , the sale pattern — of every app . With the Modern system , this sort of selling move would be much less effective at sending apps skyrocketing up the charts and thus reaping even more sale by virtue of their increase visibility .
This may be precisely what Apple want . One of the App Store ’s least keep features is that it is a thoroughly egalitarian and meritocratic system . In a traditional retail setting , for representative , it can be hard for autonomous developers to get ledge space when they ’re competing with a large society that can afford to throw marketing money left and right .
But in the App Store , all developers are on more - and - less equal footing , with Apple acting as the lone arbiter of what ’s hot and what ’s not . This launch the door for small players to impart their modern approximation forrader and benefit handsomely from them — which , in turn , can make other smaller player take notice and mold their decision to work their own products to the shop , forming a virtuous circle .
Apple ’s use in all this is to ensure that subverting the arrangement is as unmanageable as potential ; the rumored fresh formula could simply be the next step in this direction .
The good news program is that users will do good from a middling App Store , one that extend to support innovation without admit the incumbent to hog the glare . Developers who make for new estimation to market will be rewarded by a system that affords them some time in the sun , even if they ’re not back by huge marketing budgets . The bad news is that there ’s only so much you may do : disregarding of any changes Apple might make , it seems unlikely that Angry Birds will disappear from the Top Ten anytime soon .
[ Frequent Macworld contributor Marco Tabini is base in Toronto and can be found on Twitter as@mtabini . ]
