In the fall of 2017, Apple will be releasing their iOS11 update, which is going to be extensive and the biggest overhaul of the App Store yet, below are important new iOS11 features. The focus will be on how your apps present themselves and how they will be experienced by App Store users. Aesthetics will become ever more important in iOS11.
New iOS11 features – and what it means for your ASO
Therefore, it is important that you have an updated ASO strategy ready. There will be some major changes on how to present apps in the App Store – with improved options within visual and textual content. All in all, we think the coming update is great news, but it also requires adjustment and optimization on your apps.
The most important changes in Apple App Store:
- Number of characters available for app name will be reduced (from 50 to 30 characters).
- You will now be able to enter a subtitle.
- You have 170 characters available to write a ‘promotional text’ that communicates your main message – which can be changed without release.
- You gain control over how your ratings are displayed.
- Expanded search results will be possible (i.e., more parts of the app can be explored – not just the description).
- The Featured App page is redesigned and Apple curates the content more closely.
- New menu structure with “games” now having their own tab.
- There will be room for up to 3 app preview videos which automatically play in mute as soon as the page is searched.
- Videos can now be localized, meaning that videos can be displayed in local languages.
App category lists get less visibility.
As mentioned, iOS11 will be launched in late summer – and we want to make sure that you and your app(s) are prepared and ready to get the best results from the new App Store. Focus will be on video and effects of video.
Get ahead of the competitors
Now, you can add up to 3 videos to your App Store page. You can still supplement it with 5 screenshots. This is an opportunity to develop your aesthetic expression as the App Store focuses much more on these features – screens and video.
The new subtitle can be changed independently of releases, giving you new options for aligning your communications, for e.g., when working on campaigns with specific messages, etc. The same applies to the 170 characters you get to promote the app. They can be updated whenever you wish. As always, we recommend running experiments to test messages in Google in advance.
Google Play announces that they too will make some changes
A major change in Google Play is, that the title field is expanded from 30 to 50 characters, which means that it can now be optimized against multiple keywords.
The Analytics part of Google Play has been through an overhaul – The interface has been redesigned and there’s been added new metrics for your analytics. Crash Rate and Battery Usage are some of the new significant additions to the metrics.
The new User Acquisition Report provides you with brand new possibilities when it comes to analysis in regards of user retention. This is a strong tool when it comes to constructing the right marketing strategy for your specific app and its users.
Last but not least, Google puts an even higher attention to interaction between an app’s developer and user. This with an improved overview over reviews and ratings.
All in all, we think this is an exciting update with regards to the opportunities you’ll have to promote your brand in the App Store. But it requires planning and optimization to be ready.
Needless to say, we are of course available for a dialogue on how we can best assist you in the work on updating your app(s) to iOS11.