Apple Should Open Up the App Store Database | Hacker News Reader

Apple Should Open Up the App Store Database

benjaminwootton.co.uk

35 points_ttnp16 comments

The author must not be aware of the Apple Enterprise Partner Feed, which is precisely what he wants. It is a massive dump of a highly normalized relational database describing all artists, songs, videos, applications, etc. I've dealt a lot with it: it's a bit of a pain because of how much data there is and now normalized it is, but it's extremely useful. I'm not sure what the requirements are for getting access to it, but you have to apply manually via email.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati...

Many thanks.

I wasn't actually aware of this, but it's not exactly as open as I would like.

Instead, I think Apple should to open everything up to the developer community - a free sign up form which gives you access to databases, APIs, widgets, social media integration, statistics etc.

My thinking is that each time a smart developer comes along and builds something niche or innovative on top of these tools, it's potentially another route by which people could find the long tail of apps which developers publish.

I can see very little down side to keeping this information under lock and key. It would really help Apple to build an ecossytem around the app store.

I've seen this doc and this doesn't seem to include data such as user reviews of apps. Is there something that does?

"This leads to a ‘hit driven’ market which really turns me off as a developer. I’d love to release an iOS application, but I fear it would be so hard to get found that it wouldn’t be worth the investment."

If you create a web app, how do you get found on the internet today?

The App Store's top lists are, by their very definition, hit driven. Games (and most entertainment) in particular, are (and for the foreseeable future, will be) hit driven.

If you want to make an iOS app that provides real value for people. Go for it. The existence of Apple's App Store doesn't absolve you from advertising and marketing.

I've seen a bunch of startups trying to solve the "app discoverability problem", but the only only people this is a problem for is app developers. Consumers download the top games from the list, the apps they hear about from their friends, and the rare app they stumble across by name. You can't rely on "if you build it, they will come".

There are real problems with the app store. Mainly around search and naming. However any problems with discoverability are problems with your business' reliance on someone else's shelf space.

How is any of this an argument against "opening up the App Store Database"? If search is a problem, wouldn't allowing other people to build their own search engine for the App Store be beneficial?

No because the problem isn't searching for things, it is finding things that you know you want to install.

Let's say I wanted to install an app for Foobaring on my iPhone. The iPhone isn't the right tool for comparing the various choices, browsing reviews, reading comments. I'll just bust out my laptop, do some Googling real quick, make a decision, and then go type the name of the app I want into my phone and click "Install".

The problem is when I type in the name of the app I want, I may not find it, if the app is called "Foo-Bar 2000" but I searched for "Foobar 2000". The other option is App Store itunes:// links.

Having alternative search engines won't solve that problem.

A smarter search engine can certainly solve misspelling issues like that, though.

Yes, but it won't magically fix Apple's, which is the one I need to use to install things... Which was my point about what should actually improve with the App Store...

right now the App Store database is very open. The only data you can't get about apps is their keywords (although we at AppCod.es figured that out ;)), and the AppStore sales data (like download #s for apps, search query popularities etc).

I think the real problem for devs is that Apple doesn't allow us to track conversion ratios - we don't see where our sales come from, and it's very hard to optimize because of that.

Try LinkShare, which will let you create arbitrary tracking code URLs that track sales. It's a bit messy since they're affiliate URLs, but you can figure it out.

They have opened up the database and you can receive affiliate commission for install referrals.

Here are the relevant links:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati...

What about the Enterprise Partner Feed that Apple has provided since '07?

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati...

As others have stated, it is already possible to get App Store information as an independent developer via the Apple Enterprise Partner Feed.

Here is a TechCrunch article from a year ago about some companies (including a YC one that has gone through a few iterations) that have already tried to do this: http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/08/explor-app/

Beyond the discoverability problem, one thing that the App Store really needs to fix is allowing 'favoriting' apps for download later. This is especially important for those that are too large to download via the iPhone (although maybe now that the newer iOS doesn't require iTunes anymore that limit has gone away.) The current user experience is 1) browse through the webstore, 2) see something they like and try to download it, 3) get an error message saying it is too large, 4) forget about it.

Further, it would be great if it wouldn't show the same error message once per app, like it sometimes does (and again, maybe this has been fixed in the latest iOS.)

all apps can be downloaded via iPhone, just some of them need to be downloaded while on WiFi. The size limit was increased from 20MB to 50MB with the launch of the new iPad, so it's not that big of a deal.

of course "liking" apps wouldn't hurt, but there are already apps that do this - like App Shopper. It will even tell you when the apps you like are on sale etc.

If you have any understanding at all of Apple's business model, this comes off as almost naive. As right as it is, at the end of the day this is a pipe dream.

Every single thing Apple does, every move, every dollar spent, is to maintain their control. Opening up their database would give away their control.

In other words, allowing third-party app storefronts is exactly why they wouldn't do this.

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