Aside from a pair of major developer-facing enhancements that are coming to the App Store this fall—Search Ads and Subscription improvements—Apple appears adamant to fix some of the longstanding pain points with store navigation and app discovery.
For instance, the Featured tab will no longer show apps a user has installed on their device.
Apple also said that it’ll be bringing back the Categories tab for the store and let you share apps on social media right from the Home screen with 3D Touch.
New 3D Touch shortcut for sharing apps
Apps can be shared within the App Store by tapping the Share menu on app pages. On the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the store also supports the following Quick Actions when pressing its Home screen icon: Search, Redeem, Update All and Purchased.
RELATED: Top 3D Touch shortcuts for App Store and iTunes Store
Soon, you’ll be able to share your favorite app on social media by 3D-touching its Home screen icon, Schiller told The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple.
“Apple will now have a Share sheet when you 3D Touch on an app on your home screen that will allow you to share the app on social networks, or with your family and friends,” reads the article.
The wording suggests that Apple could be actually auto-embedding a Share sheet shortcut as a Home screen Quick Action for any installed app that works with 3D Touch. I’ve reached out to Dalrymple and will update the story with his clarification.
I discover many apps through personal recommendations so this easier-to-use app sharing via 3D Touch may encourage me to share even more apps with my friends.
Categories tab
Currently, the App Store lacks a dedicated Categories tab.
Instead, you must tap the Categories button in the upper left corner of either Featured or Top Charts tab. The App Store currently has five tabs alongside the bottom—Feature, Top Charts, Explore, Search and Updates.
If I had to guess which tab will be going away in order to make room for the Categories tab, I’d say Explore. That being said, Apple may also tweak the design of the App Store to actually make room for a sixth tab on the iPhone.
Thoughts?
Source: The Loop