Apple allowed users to rate and review first-party apps for the first time in 2021 under regulatory pressure before going under an antitrust investigation. Apple has now offered a few more first-party apps to the App Store for review and rating including Messages, the Phone app, Safari, Photos, and more. Some first-party apps could now be downloaded separately by Apple, but users were never allowed to review them, especially apps like News and Podcasts, Mail that didn’t work for most users, and three -Star ratings used to start with.
TechCrunch reports that the change was first noticed by developer Costa Eleftherio, who has been a key figure in promoting App Store improvements, especially in relation to App Store scammers. There are many Apple apps now available for rating and review with iOS 15.1. This includes some of the default apps, such as Messages, Phone, Clock, Photos, Camera, Safari, and Apple Health. The report says that it also includes apps like World Clock, Workout, Heart Rate and Find Devices for Apple Watch. Users on iOS 14 can view apps, but will be unable to review and rate.
This change is expected to allow Apple to update its own apps independently in addition to iOS updates. Google follows this strategy with many of its core Android features and functions, each app with its own Play Store listing. The report also states that the apps are appearing with separate listings independent of the latest iOS update. Although most of the users are not aware of the app listing, all the apps have some reviews for starters. Reports said that the only strange thing in the app listing was Safari’s age rating. Apple’s Safari browser has an age rating of 4+, while its competitors such as Firefox and Chrome have an age rating of 17+
We’ll have to wait to find out how these apps rate as more users discover, review and rate Apple’s first party apps. By opening itself up to user feedback, Apple will be more prepared to make the necessary changes that users are requesting and even be warned about potential bugs before they even occur.
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