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I wish I could search by: - Price. -Has ads? - User Ratings. - In-app purchases. Does anyone know if there is a search engine that will let me discover app

I wish I could search by: - Price. -Has ads? - User Ratings. - In-app purchases. Does anyone know if there is a search engine that will let me discover apps this way? Like this, but for iOS - https://playsearch.kaki87.net/ https://playsearch.kaki87.net/

sneak 6y ago
It's in Apple's financial interest to have people install more apps with IAPs, as Apple currently charges their captive audience 10x the market rate for payment processing inside of apps and makes a lot of money from these purchases. I wouldn't hold my breath for Apple to develop a filter that lets you find only non-IAP apps.
- thewebcount 6y ago
  They made a whole service (Apple Arcade) just to allow users to avoid in-app purchases, ads, and tracking in games. Oh, and loot boxes, too, probably. I don't think they're above letting users do that sort of filtering.
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    Apple gets subscription money out of that, of course…
- wayneftw 6y ago
  Seems like a like a good opportunity for a third party solution.
  - mthoms 6y ago
    I wonder how this could be monetized though? Apple dropped their affiliate program for the App store quite a while back.
    - wayneftw 6y ago
      Apple must also make money in their own app store from ads, since every time I search for an app the first results are always ads for competing products. So ads and paid placement, unfortunately, would probably be the first monetization strategy for such a solution. Another option could be referral codes. If I find an app through the search site, the site could show a referral code that the app could accept, granting some benefit to the user. Of course this strategy means that the app makers must do work to participate.
- babypuncher 6y ago
  Apple charges about the same price for processing IAPs as the Play store, Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live. Which storefront are you thinking of that only charges a 3% commission?
  - sneak 6y ago
    All of those are abusive, anticompetitive markets. Every other purchase in an app not under the gatekeeping of those rentseekers pays approximately 1-3% for payment processing. An example would be in-app purchases in the Amazon app for real-world goods. Those are IAPs too.
    - babypuncher 6y ago
      Steam isn't acting as a gatekeeper to anything, yet most developers still find their 30% fee acceptable. Clearly Valve is offering some value to them beyond just processing credit card numbers.

sneak 6y ago

It's in Apple's financial interest to have people install more apps with IAPs, as Apple currently charges their captive audience 10x the market rate for payment processing inside of apps and makes a lot of money from these purchases. I wouldn't hold my breath for Apple to develop a filter that lets you find only non-IAP apps.

thewebcount 6y ago
They made a whole service (Apple Arcade) just to allow users to avoid in-app purchases, ads, and tracking in games. Oh, and loot boxes, too, probably. I don't think they're above letting users do that sort of filtering.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  Apple gets subscription money out of that, of course…
wayneftw 6y ago
Seems like a like a good opportunity for a third party solution.
- mthoms 6y ago
  I wonder how this could be monetized though? Apple dropped their affiliate program for the App store quite a while back.
  - wayneftw 6y ago
    Apple must also make money in their own app store from ads, since every time I search for an app the first results are always ads for competing products. So ads and paid placement, unfortunately, would probably be the first monetization strategy for such a solution. Another option could be referral codes. If I find an app through the search site, the site could show a referral code that the app could accept, granting some benefit to the user. Of course this strategy means that the app makers must do work to participate.
babypuncher 6y ago
Apple charges about the same price for processing IAPs as the Play store, Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live. Which storefront are you thinking of that only charges a 3% commission?
- sneak 6y ago
  All of those are abusive, anticompetitive markets. Every other purchase in an app not under the gatekeeping of those rentseekers pays approximately 1-3% for payment processing. An example would be in-app purchases in the Amazon app for real-world goods. Those are IAPs too.
  - babypuncher 6y ago
    Steam isn't acting as a gatekeeper to anything, yet most developers still find their 30% fee acceptable. Clearly Valve is offering some value to them beyond just processing credit card numbers.