Apple’s WWDC21 keynote address has also delivered new App Store features for developers, including updated product pages, support for the new In-App Events feature and more.
App Store: Product page improvements
The App Store on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, macOS 12 and tvOS 15 now supports more than a single product page. Developers can easily create multiple product pages, and each can have its own custom description, screenshots, videos and even the app icon can be different.
This basically permits developers to present an app differently to different users.
And to help developers showcase dynamic things happening inside their apps, such as limited-time events in games or any tpe of live events in apps, Apple is introducing something called In-App Events. And to help this feature take off, Apple is going to promote the hell out of featudevelopers’ in-app events by featuring them front and center on the App Store.
On top of that, developers can showcase in-app events on their product page, with options for users available to jump right into the action or signup to learn more. To help people discover cool new or upcoming in-app events, Apple is going to surface them in the App Store’s personalized recommendations and search.
What’s more, iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 include brand new App Store widgets for the iPhone and iPad that will also feature any upcoming in-app events on your Home screen.
Xcode Cloud
Apple is combining Xcode, its set of developer tools, with the power of the cloud.
Integrating Xcode, Apple’s developer tools, with the cloud means Xcode can now leverage the power of the Apple cloud to build an app. And while the cloud is doing that, your Mac computers can freely run other tasks, which will accelerate build times for larger teams.
It gets even better because Xcode Cloud runs automated compatibility tests simulating all Apple devices and platforms. And because the Apple cloud runs those devicetests in parallel, it completes them in a fraction of a time. Test results are available right within Xcode.
Xcode Cloud can also pass distributed tests to internal beta testers and TestFlight users.
A limited beta of Xcode Cloud will be available to developers starting today, Apple has said, with a ccess expanding throughout this summer and the fall.
Further information, including Xcode Cloud pricing and availability, will be shared this fall.
TestFlight for Mac
And last but not least, TestFlight, Apple’s app for testing pre-release software, is making a leap onto macOS. This will help internal and external beta testers try out a developer’s Mac app before it’s released, similar to testing apps on iOS and iPadOS. Actually, TestFlight was available on the iPhone and iPad right when Apple acquired Burstly, the company behind it, back in 2014.
Ahead of the WWDC21 keynote, Apple also shared an interesting company-commissioned study revealing that the App Store economy grew to a whopping $643 billion in 2020.