A year in the App Store: Apple’s latest algorithm in 2014 and 2015

China's mobile game industry developed rapidly in 2014. As the market changed rapidly, CP, distribution and channels were also affected to varying degrees. As the most important channel of iOS, App Store also had many changes in 2014. Of course, what we saw more was helplessness and localization. Let’s take a look back at the rights and wrongs of the App Store in 2014.

Most important to know: Noteworthy changes in the App Store in 2014

1. On May 24, the ranking list was adjusted from TOP200 to only TOP150;

2. On June 13, the new feature of "Browse by Category" was launched;

3. On June 17, the App Store regulations were amended to support Bitcoin applications;

4. On June 26, a new section called "Best Updated Games" was added;

5. On October 21, the customized version download page appeared for the first time in the Chinese App Store;

6. On November 18, Apple announced that the App Store in China began to support UnionPay payments;

7. On November 19, the prices of many games on the App Store will be reduced, and the 1 and 3 yuan prices will be permanently retained;

8. On November 20, in response to government regulators, the Apple Store game logo changed from "free" to "get".

Most frequent: Apple's 6 points for developers in 2014

1. Lock the list. This year can be said to be the year when the App Store locked the charts most frequently since it entered China, and each time the charts were locked, it meant an adjustment to the ranking algorithm;

2. Promotion. Promotion is the most aggressive measure taken by the App Store after entering the Chinese market. By highlighting the permanent 1 yuan and 3 yuan game download prices, it has greatly activated the changes in the App Store rankings. The latest 8 yuan special limited-time promotion also caused quite a stir;

2. Remove from shelves. On June 15, more than 30 points wall software including Money Making Expert were removed from the shelves. In addition, many apps and games have been severely punished by Apple for cheating on the charts. Some have been demoted to 1,000th place, and some have been directly removed from the shelves.

3. Prohibited. On June 10, in-app promotion was banned, which was mainly to maintain Apple's own marketing advantages;

4. Cancel. On June 27, the ban on incentivized video ads in apps was lifted

5. Strike. Needless to say, the main targets of the crackdown are companies and games that manipulate the rankings. In addition to cracking down on score walls, fake app reviews have also been cracked down on;

The most exciting: It’s still the battle of the charts, and now even the paid charts have been added

1. Update the system to delete games and applications. On September 19, Apple pushed the official iOS 8 update to Chinese users. However, it triggered a "space battle" over whether to delete or not.

2. To reach the top of the list, you must first reach the download list. Affected by the "1 yuan, 3 yuan" price, the current iOS game promotion strategy has changed. On the one hand, it is to give the market confidence, and on the other hand, it is also due to cost considerations. Most of the newly launched games have chosen the strategy of "pay first, then free, and then sell well";

3. The new myth of App Store. On December 19, "My Name is MT (Weibo) 2" set a new record, ranking first in six App Store charts;

Most concerned: Ranking manipulation and score walls are still the two main problems

1. Brush the list. Being on the list means traffic, and the focus of the 2014 App Store marketing discussion by Game People is on the experience of brushing the list and the skills of maintaining the list;

2. Points wall. The points wall is in a precarious situation under Apple's crackdown, but it is still strong after several adjustments and locks. With the increase in demand for rankings, the price of the points wall has also risen again, but its effect has not changed much. Moreover, with the influence of the "1 yuan" price, another new way to rush to the top of the list is being used by more and more large companies.

3. Jailbreak channels. After various updates and policies from Apple, the share of jailbreak channels is shrinking. Especially after Apple began to support third-party input methods, users' demand for jailbreak will only decrease. However, some advantages of jailbreak channels cannot be replaced by Apple. Compared with jailbreak channels, there are still many "free" games available for download.

4. Game recommendations. It is a general consensus that only games recommended by the App Store are "good games", and whether or not to get recommended has become a goal and marketing point for many companies. Of course, game recommendations on the App Store can be obtained through some complex means. But in China, you will find that it is not necessarily because the game is really fun.

What the App Store does right

1. In November, Apple announced that the price of apps and games in the Apple China Store is only RMB 1 or RMB 3. This pricing brings benefits. One is that it will increase payment behavior and increase transactions in the payment area. At the same time, it will popularize the concept of genuine products, increase the number of users who bind bank cards, and improve the stickiness of the Apple ecosystem. Next, as Apple builds the store ecosystem, more benefits will be brought to developers.

2. At the WWDC Developer Conference, Cook announced that the new iOS 8 has added many new features. That is, Apple is paying more and more attention to the Chinese market and has begun to further promote localized services, including a monthly calendar that supports the lunar calendar function. This move to show goodwill to China also shows that iOS is becoming more open and further increasing its attention to the Chinese market.

App Store Mistakes

1. This year, the Bitcoin exchange rate affected the market in March, Apple announced an exchange rate policy adjustment in April, followed by malicious refunds for recharges in May and June, and then the US and Canadian exchange rates affected the market around July, and now it is the Russian exchange rate that is affecting the market. The means used by criminals are nothing more than taking advantage of exchange rate differences, recharging through Taobao, and overseas payments.

2. At the end of August, Apple's system was attacked by hackers, resulting in the exposure of private photos of many Hollywood stars on the Internet, which caused serious risks to the account security of Apple users around the world. These photos were obtained by hackers who attacked multiple Apple iCloud accounts, and at one point many iPhone users chose to switch from Apple to Android users.

Future: CP in 2015 should focus on these 4 points

1. iOS 8.1, iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3 will be released in 2015 or next year, and iOS 9 will be released in September or October 2015 together with new hardware;

2. Starting from February 2015, all new Apple apps and updates must support iOS 8 SDK and 64-bit;

3. Applications submitted to the AppStore from February 2015 must support the 64-bit version of iOS 8 SDK;

4. In December 2014, the Apple Store raised the ruble price of apps to fill the exchange rate loophole.