Transcript
[ Applause ]
>> Hi, everybody.
My name is Pedraum Pardehpoosh.
I run Product for the App Store.
Thanks for joining us today.
We've brought a few people
together that normally don't get
out of the office.
So this is going to be a session
that might be a little different
than what you're used to here.
It's a deeper look into the App
Store.
And I'm thrilled that you joined
us.
You heard about the App Store
from Phil on Monday at the
keynote.
And the staggering numbers that
demonstrate what a smash hit
it's been.
But today we're going to spend a
little time giving you an
overview of the App Store.
Go a little deeper.
We'll look at the design
philosophy that went into the
"why" we did it.
And we'll go a little deeper
into our emphasis on editorial.
Finally, we'll bring it all back
and talk about the implications
to you, the developers that
bring it to life.
Let's get started.
Who remembers this?
[ Cheering and Applause ]
It's the original App Store, the
OG.
It had been launched in July of
2008 with 500 apps.
And this is a little inside
story.
There were some prominent
executives at the company that
didn't think we'd have more than
a thousand apps in the App Store
ever.
The structure and the layout of
the store have largely remained
the same.
We changed things here and
there, but overall it's the same
store.
Tweaks have been made.
Well, nine years later there are
2.2 million apps in the store.
And it's transformed the way
software is bought and
distributed.
[ Applause ]
It's hard to imagine a time
before Apps.
It's permeated every facet of
our lives from the way we travel
to the way we find love.
[ Laughter ]
And they've affected entire
industries as well.
From airline travel to
healthcare to gaming.
As well as the way we play
games.
You saw this scene of people in
Hong Kong playing Pokemon Go on
Monday.
And I think it's just bonkers.
I love it.
Well at this point in the
history of the App Store, we
pause to consider how we can
make it even better.
How we could redesign it from
the ground up.
And as we began doing that, we
realized it could serve a few
purposes.
One, we thought how can we give
customers a reason to come back
every day?
Make it a destination they'd
want to visit on a daily basis?
Second, we thought this was a
perfect time to double down on
the editorial curation that's
distinguished the App Store
since its inception.
And finally, we wanted to
reflect the significance the
games play in the App Store and
give both games and apps a
clearer focus.
At this stage, we began an
intense journey of redesigning
the store from the ground up.
To tell you more about the
process, I'm thrilled to hand it
over to Monika Gromek who led
these design efforts.
Monika.
[ Applause ]
>> Thanks Pedraum, for letting
me out of the office once in a
while.
And thank you all for coming to
this session.
My name is Monika Gromek and I
lead the App Store design team
at Apple.
This redesign of the App Store
is so significant that we felt
it deserved a session dedicated
just to this one topic.
And hopefully by the end of it
you'll be much more familiar
with the changes that we're
making and all the new features
that we're introducing.
I am going to cover the major
parts of the redesign.
But I would like start with our
goals and the design process.
As Pedraum mentioned, the App
Store launched nine years ago.
And it's so hard to believe that
so much time has passed.
And we are incredibly proud of
what it has become.
And mostly, thanks to all of you
and the amazing apps and games
that you create every day.
So why the redesign?
Well, it was time for us to take
a long, hard look at the current
store and acknowledge its
limitations, as none of us could
have predicted its tremendous
growth.
So just like every other app and
game creator on the App Store,
we asked ourselves two
questions: What are our goals
now?
And how does the current design
support them?
For the new store, we touched
every single view and thought
hard about the structure of the
app.
Believe me, there were a lot of
options on the table.
We applied lessons from other
redesigns at Apple, but the
final design is unique to the
App Store.
The end result is a new sense of
clarity, a general
simplification of the app, and a
fresh take on editorial.
The new style of typography
helps establish hierarchy on the
pages and a sense of space.
It guides people throughout
their journey.
We've also removed extra layers
of UIs such as toggles to help
with the overall experience in
the App Store.
Let's take a look at our
redesign goals.
As you can see, these are
exactly the same as the ones you
heard a few minutes ago.
This alignment of goals helped
us create a product that's
integrated, fluid and also
beautiful.
We did add one goal from the
design side.
And that is clarity and
simplification.
And it's probably the most
important goal.
And I will expand on it later.
I want to start by talking about
the App Store as a daily
destination and the editorial
voice on the App Store, as the
two goals are very closely
related.
To do that, I want to bring up
the Today view.
You saw it in the Monday
keynote.
But let's take a closer look.
It all starts with the Today
tab.
This is our new home for the App
Store.
This is where we can share our
passion for apps and games and
celebrate all of you, the
creators.
This is where you can come and
learn our editorial perspective
on the world of apps and games.
This view is a dynamic,
ever-changing platform that
allows us to feature your
products in a very different
light than ever before.
We designed it as a series of
cards that update daily and
allow us to celebrate your apps
and games by telling stories.
We've had this desire to tell
stories for a long time now but
haven't been able to do it in a
meaningful and engaging way.
But this is all changing now
with the Today tab.
What you see here is our video
card.
We can highlight your app and
game previews and our
editorially-created videos.
We will be providing helpful
tips and tricks as seen in this
example for VSCO.
And we will be nominating an App
of the Day and a Game of the
Day.
And we will also be sharing our
curated collections.
Some of you might be familiar
with our collections, as we've
been creating them for years,
but haven't had a way to
highlight them in a predictable
way in our UI.
But again, this is different now
with the Today tab and these
cards.
We spent a lot of time thinking
about how to best showcase your
apps and games in this view.
It was important to us that it
looked beautiful, so we spent a
lot of time thinking about every
single detail.
Everything kept us up at night
for months, be it typography,
layout, transitions and
animations.
Each card is an entry point for
a deeper discovery.
And we also hope to give you
some context into why you should
tap in and check out that story.
At any given point we will give
you up to seven days' worth of
content.
So if you miss a day or two, you
can come back and find it later.
Just look for the date markers.
We also included animations on
some of these cards to make them
come to life.
You've already seen the
auto-playing video.
But we hope to bring more
movement into this view.
Twelve cards will be ready for
launch.
We needed a variety to keep
things interesting.
But also to be able to tell
diverse type of stories.
And each one of these cards
allows us to tell a story in a
different way.
It was also important that these
cards look good together and
work as a system.
The order in which they appear
might be different, so what you
see one day might be very
different from what you will see
tomorrow, for example.
But, there's a lot of thought
that goes into creating these
every single day around the
world.
We haven't done this before.
And believe me, it keeps things
interesting, even at Apple.
I do want to share one other
thing about the cards, which is
personally important to me.
That this view is relevant world
wide.
So all this content will be
localized and culturally aware
in all our territories.
Let's take a closer look at one
of these stories.
It focuses on the fact that
behind every app there is a
story of who made it, what
motivated them, and how it was
made.
It celebrates you and your apps
and games.
Let's dive in.
The transition into this story
is smooth and fluid.
And it's also easy to go back
out to the Today view.
Simply tap on the X button or
swipe down on the article.
The stories are engaging and
informative.
Smokey, who leads our editorial
team, will come on stage in a
bit and talk to you about it in
more detail.
But I want to highlight a few
elements of these stories from
the design perspective.
We're letting the elements of
the stories define the space,
allowing them to breathe and
convey our perspective.
The videos let us engage with
the viewer like we've never been
able to do before.
And each story is a series of
modules defined by our design
and editorial teams.
We also hope that you will share
these stories with one another
and enjoy them as much as we do.
The modules allow for
flexibility in terms of how
these stories are built.
But they also keep things
consistent from the design side.
So we have this common language
that ties them all together,
making it easier for people to
experience that content.
It's also worth mentioning that
for the first time ever this
editorial content will be
searchable.
We've actually never had that in
the App Store.
And we are incredibly excited
about this.
[ Applause ]
Absolutely.
So if you miss a day, or if you
miss some of this content, be it
in the Today tab or any other
place in the App Store, you can
simply search for it later.
It will be featured on the
product page as well for that
app or game.
And of course, the Today tab
will be part of this App Store
on the iPad.
And that is the Today view.
We're incredibly excited about
how it looks and how it works.
But more importantly, about the
type of stories it will allow us
to tell you every single day.
Let's talk about games next.
Games have been always a huge
part of the App Store.
But up to this point always
mixed with apps throughout our
editorial and charts.
Because of their importance and
success, we're dedicating a home
just for games in the App Store.
And that is the new Games tab.
It is more than a tab.
We're striving to create the
best, world's best game store.
Full of amazing content that
people are going to love.
The top of the page allows for
space for more stories to be
dedicated just to games or new
releases.
And with more focus on videos,
people will be able to discover
games much more quickly and
engage with them almost
immediately.
The split between apps and games
also allowed us to make charts
much more relevant in the App
Store.
So, the charts that you're
seeing are specifically
dedicated to games.
And the same is true for apps.
They will not be mixed in.
We think this will actually make
it a lot easier to find what's
popular on the App Store.
The same is true of categories.
As some of you may know, games
was just one of the categories
in the previous store.
Unfortunately, what it meant is
that all the subcategories were
harder to find and all that
content was hidden.
But creating a tab dedicated for
games, we can take all those
categories and put them on the
top level, making browsing by
categories a lot easier and that
content a lot easier to find.
Throughout the App Store will
also be providing more context
for any particular app or game.
The App Store is no longer just
app icons.
We want to help people find what
they're looking for and make the
right download choices.
The context can come from your
subtitles that you will be
providing for your apps.
And these subtitles are as
important as your app names
today.
And again, it's to provide
people with more information
about your app and game.
The context can also come from
the editorial team.
And you will see more and more
of it throughout the App Store.
And that is the new Games tab.
We're incredibly excited about
having a dedicated home for
games.
Before we move on, I just wanted
to highlight a small but playful
detail about the Games tab.
Icon. The shape of the rocket is
actually based on the leaf from
the Apple logo.
We thought some of you might
find it interesting.
In addition to the Games tab,
we're also creating a new home
for apps.
All the amazing content that you
saw for the Games tab will also
be available in the Apps tab.
From the design perspective
there was always this tension
between apps and games.
And we felt it was a problem we
needed to solve, as apps are
incredibly important and have a
huge impact on how we live our
lives.
By splitting games and apps we
can give both of them the
attention they deserve.
And finding new apps will be so
much easier with App Previews,
as you see in this example for
Mammals.
What you will see in both tabs
are in-app purchases.
Up to this point they had a very
limited presence in the App
Store.
But we're changing it completely
with this redesign.
They will be much more
accessible and discoverable
throughout the App Store.
You will see them on the Today
tab.
We actually designed a card
specifically for in-app
purchases.
They will be highlighted on the
Apps and Games tab.
And they will be searchable.
They will also be featured by
you on your product pages.
It is a complete story.
What's probably even more
important, how easy it is to get
the in-app purchases, especially
if you have the app installed on
your own device.
I'm going to start with the
Today tab and the card
specifically designed for the
in-app purchases.
I'm going to tap on the Buy
button.
The app will open.
And the purchase sheet will come
up.
I can confirm with Touch ID and
I'm done.
It's simple and direct.
[ Applause ]
When designing the visual
treatment for in-app purchases,
it was important to us that
these wouldn't be confused for
being app icons.
We started with the image that
you will be providing for
featuring your in-app purchases.
And we added a framing system
that helps convey what these
truly are, in addition to an app
or a game.
And the [inaudible] helps
communicate that as well.
The curve of the frame actually
follows the shape of the app
icons on the App Store today.
And the way we think of in-app
purchases is that they are the
smaller part of the larger
piece, which is the app itself.
It was also still important to
us to keep that connection
between the in-app purchase and
the parent app.
So we added the app icon in the
lower left corner, again for
more context.
If you would like to feature
your in-app purchases on a
store, you will need to submit
an image for every single one of
your in-app purchases.
It needs to be a custom design
asset that helps describe what
your in-app purchase is about.
It should not be a screen shot
from your app or an app icon.
The last goal, clarity and
simplification, is also the most
important, like I mentioned
earlier, from the design
perspective.
It also had the biggest
influence on the entire
redesign.
When designing our products, we
constantly ask ourselves: Is
this simple enough?
Is this clear to everyone?
And can we achieve the same goal
with less?
The most significant area of the
App Store that probably
demonstrates how this goal
affected our process is the
Product page.
This is also home for your apps.
So I want to spend a little more
time on it.
Over the years, we've added a
lot of different features to
this page without having the
opportunity to take a step back
and look at it holistically.
We knew we had to simplify,
especially the top of the page,
as this is what your customers
see first.
And all of the relevant
information had to be clearly
communicated.
We wanted to highlight this
app's achievement on the App
Store.
So its star rating, Editor's
Choice and charting position, if
available.
We included age rating to this
section, as we know it's
incredibly important, especially
for those of us who are parents.
All this information had to be
quickly scannable and easy to
understand.
Videos and screenshots are still
the heroes of this page, just
like they are today.
But now with auto-playing video,
this page comes to life.
You will also get up to three
videos versus just one.
And we know that people want to
engage with beautiful app
previews.
And we will feature them much
more heavily throughout our UI.
We redesigned how we communicate
if this app is universal.
This is also how you see screen
shots from the other devices.
We enjoy apps that have been
designed and work on all the
different devices.
We drastically simplified how we
present ratings and reviews.
They're much easier to read, and
their presentation has -- their
graphic presentation has been
refined.
We've removed the All versions
versus Current version split
between ratings.
So updating your apps will no
longer hide your ratings the way
it does today.
[ Applause ]
The reviews are really easy to
navigate.
Simply swipe to the left or tap
on the CL link.
And we included the Editor's
Choice in this section as well.
So all the reviews are in one
place.
The information section
underwent a makeover as well.
So it's a lot easier to read.
And we are featuring more apps
and games by this developer on
this page or any other products
that are related and you might
like.
Lastly, it was important to us
to make it easy for you as you
scroll down the page to download
the app.
We love the bar that comes down
as you absorb the content.
The transition is smooth and the
bar is integrated with the
overall page design.
And that is the redesigned App
Store.
We worked hard to make the new
store a place people will love
and will want to come to every
day.
And we hope you agree.
Next, I want to invite Smokey
Fontaine to talk to you about
our editorial strategy for the
new App Store.
Thank you all for your
attention.
[ Applause ]
>> Thank you, Monika.
Thank you, Monika, so much for
showing us that beautiful,
beautiful redesign.
My name is Smokey Fontaine.
And yes, that is my real name.
In many ways I'm glad they don't
let me touch the product.
I only get to touch the
editorial.
I am the editorial director here
of the App Store.
It is my great pleasure to
really talk to us about what
does "editorial" mean for the
App Store?
How does original content, how
will it bring our customers to
the store in new and exciting
ways?
And how can our added
perspective really transform the
store from the phenomenal
service and utility it has
always been to a place where our
users and our customers can come
back and read, watch, and
listen, and discover more than
they ever, ever have before.
Here's what we're going to
cover.
Our editorial principles.
We have the set of new tabs, as
you've seen today, games and
apps.
More options for you.
And we'll end with the big
question.
Let's start with who we are.
Who is the Editorial Team?
Well, first and foremost, we are
fans.
We are fans of all of the work
that you do.
We really, really love this
stuff.
In fact, I'm standing here right
now without my phone.
And I'm feeling a little lonely.
How many folks have actually
used an app since this
presentation has been on?
Anyone? How many people have
played a game since this
presentation has been on?
Anyone? Well, maybe you're even
making, you're finishing your
apps and polishing up your games
as we speak.
And that's what we love to do as
well.
In fact, all of our App Store
editors around the world wake up
really excited to try to find
that innovative new app that
could change someone's life.
Or that exciting game that
customers will spend hours and
hours and hours playing.
We care deeply about all the
recommendations we make.
And it is true.
We play every game we recommend.
And we use every app that we
recommend.
The redesign is so exciting for
us because now we have the
ability to provide even more
context, even more perspective,
and in many ways a narrative to
our recommendations.
So customers can come and find
everything they want and need
and love.
Find all of the work that you
create.
We have a set of editorial
principles.
And if you come to our story
rooms around the world, and this
is not just in Cupertino, but
this is in London and Tokyo.
This is in Seoul.
This is even in Dubai.
These editorial principles
really guide the writing that we
will write.
They will guide our creative
process.
We start with the first one.
We celebrate apps.
This for us is really our most
important point.
Now that we have a bigger
editorial platform, it does not
mean that we're going to all of
a sudden start reviewing apps.
It does not mean that we're
going to all of a sudden going
to start criticizing apps.
We are cheer leaders.
Unapologetic cheerleaders of
apps and app culture.
For us, it's really the most
creative work in the world.
And that is our number one
principle.
We celebrate apps.
Second is that we are the voice
of the App Store.
You know, during this redesign
we thought long and hard about
not only what we're going to
write, but how we're going to
write it.
It's a big responsibility to be
that voice.
It's a big responsibility to
kind of be the mouthpiece to
hundreds and hundreds of
millions of customers.
And for that we want to kind of
be authentic to who we are.
We want it to be smart and fun.
We want it to be humble, for
sure.
And very friendly.
Hopefully, a lot of our work
will be in a kind of
conversational tone.
And of course, we want to be
passionate about all the stuff.
We are going to be very Apple.
We're going to obsess over every
word, every word, every word, so
that our customers can -- we can
help them and engage them as
best as we can.
What's our third principle?
Well, we offer independent
insights.
What's one of the biggest
criticisms of the App Store?
Well, that it's all paid
marketing, right?
Many of you in this room may
have tried to engage us with
suggestions to feature one of
your apps or feature one of your
games.
And you probably know that money
isn't the answer to that.
Well, nothing in the redesigned
App Store on Today Games or Apps
is advertising.
We are strong experts with an
editorial point of view.
And we are great storytellers
with a personality and with a
perspective that we want to
share.
Now, why is this important?
We want customers to really
trust the recommendations that
we make.
We want them to be able to rely
on what we share with them.
Why? So they'll ultimately come
back every day and find
tremendous value in the App
Store's editorial.
Fourth. While we wordsmith this
a lot, let me tell you.
We tell interesting and
important stories.
First it was, "We tell
interesting stories."
Then it was, "We tell insanely
interesting stories."
And this is where we landed,
"Interesting and important
stories."
Now, for sure, not every single
story on Today is going to be
super, super important.
But we're going to try really,
really hard to make sure that
they are very interesting.
They key for us is that us being
able to say that this app is
great is no longer enough.
In the current app store, that's
what we say.
And we feature and promote those
apps.
In our new design, newly
designed App Store, we will say
that app is great, but then
explain why we believe it is to
our customers.
We're here to provide
thought-provoking ideas and
really offer that context.
Our fifth and last principle is
we deliver a fresh and
unexpected take.
You know, the world of apps is
moving at a ridiculous speed.
It is our job, we believe, to
reflect that innovative culture.
You guys are pushing the world
ahead.
All of you are shaping our lives
with what you create.
And often you've changed things
in ways that are totally
unexpected.
So, we want to try to keep up
with you.
Keep up with that speed.
And for us, we kind of call this
our "the crazy ones" principles.
A fresh and unexpected take.
So these five principles all
together: We celebrate apps.
We are the voice of the App
Store.
We offer independent insights.
We tell interesting and
important stories.
And we deliver a fresh and
unexpected take.
When we do all this, if around
the world we abide by these
principles, then hopefully the
Today tab and the whole new App
Store become a pretty fabulous
document of app culture.
And for us at the App Store, app
culture in almost every single
way is culture.
All right.
The new tabs: Today, Games, and
Apps.
Each of these tabs have the same
goal.
But we approach them
differently.
Today, well, Today is going to
be updated every day.
Don't really have a choice
there.
Hence the name.
It's going to have a very
focused perspective.
It's going to be highly
contextual.
And when customers tap on cards
in Today, they can actually go
directly to buy that app or game
from the card.
Or of course, tap in and read
one of our stories.
The Games and Apps tabs are
going to be different.
In many ways you can think about
those as a 2.0 version or a
newly evolved version of the
Feature tab now, including
categories and including charts,
as you're seeing.
Well, the Games and Apps tabs
are going to be updated often.
Not every day.
But more often than the weekly
that you see in today's cadence.
Games and Apps are going to
offer a broader selection.
And it's generally going to be a
more transactional experience.
Taps on Games and Apps will take
customers directly to our
amazing new product pages.
Well, let me chat a little bit
about what we call our Story
Framework.
As you're seeing, stories on the
App Store will cover many, many
things.
We'll have world premieres.
We'll have major updates.
We'll have tips and tricks and
interviews with developers and
lists upon lists.
Well, our job is to write about
what we think customers will
find most interesting about an
app or a game.
And we really believe every app
has a story to tell.
There are four main topics of
stories for us.
When we think about all the
range, the broad, broad range of
ideas that we have, we try to
make -- we needed to make sense
of that.
So we started with just an idea
of topics.
What are the four main topics
that we will cover?
And for each topic we kind of
have a statement of belief.
This is something that we really
want to have customers feel in
the writing and the content that
we create.
Our first topic is, of course,
gaming.
Whether it's a big name game or
a small indie who has a
car-based strategy, RPG,
Infinite Runner, it doesn't
matter.
The games you make are so
innovative and so creative, our
game editors really believe
that, you know what?
Apps are the future of gaming.
In many ways apps are the
present of gaming.
Anyone agree with that comment?
Apps are the present of gaming?
Hey, we do have the biggest
gaming platform in the world.
And you know, we're very
enthusiastic about expressing to
our customers what we believe
the future is in games.
Our second topic: Lifestyle.
Well, what do we believe there?
Apps transform your life.
Whether it's social networking
or photography.
Whether it's dating or fitness
or cooking or transportation,
apps have helped us live in ways
that we've never, ever, ever
thought possible.
And we believe in our lifestyle
coverage that apps transform
your life.
Third, culture and
entertainment.
Apps shape culture.
Well, this is music, film,
fashion.
This is TV, pop culture and
everything in between.
The App Store is going to bring
all that together.
And so App Store [inaudible]
content may talk to celebrities.
We may talk to influencers.
We may talk to culture creators
of all kinds about the world of
apps and games because we
believe apps really do shape
culture.
And our fourth and final topic
is, of course, new tech and
innovation.
This is all things new, new,
new.
New services.
New ideas.
New capabilities.
Completely new ways of getting
things done with your iPhone or
iPad.
And we really feel that we can
provide a service to customers
to help them figure it all out.
Help them get great use out of
all the innovative work that you
do.
And help them potentially be
introduced into a whole new way
of doing things.
In many ways it's very Apple of
us.
We want to make the complex
world of technology simple.
All right.
Four topics: Gaming, lifestyle,
culture and entertainment, and
new tech and innovation.
When we take these topics, and
once we've decided on one, then
we want to apply what we call an
"intention."
And this is essentially the
purpose or the goal of each
story that you will see on the
App Store.
There are three of those.
The first we call "Inform."
This is about being timely.
This is about giving customers
"need-to-know" information.
This is to obviously let them
know what's happening in the
world right now.
For example, you can say a new
show is launching on Netflix.
And if we do that well, our
customer reaction may very
likely be: "Cool.
I want to get that."
Our second intention is simply
called "Help."
Really, really important for us.
This is about being
instructional.
This is about being
motivational.
This is about sharing ideas that
may be intuitive for us but not
for all of our customers.
How to get the most out of
Instagram's new feature could be
a helpful topic.
And for us, this can be a really
helpful way of reengaging our
customers with some apps that
they may have downloaded, may
knew they loved them, but
they've been left idle.
So how can we reengage our
customers with some of those
apps and even games by helping
them, giving them new ideas of
how to use one of these great
things?
And third, it's "Inspire."
This is going to be the topic
area or the intention where we
have really creative content,
really motivational content,
really insightful.
This is going to be everything
from a twelve-year-old making an
app to the 82-year-old making an
app, both of whom were here this
year.
This is inspiring content that
may go global around the world.
Inform, help and inspire.
If we inform, "Cool.
I want to get that."
If we help, "I had no idea.
Thanks." And if we inspire,
"Wow!
That's super interesting."
And of course, we are not going
to count any of those reactions
unless customers use those exact
phrases on the screen.
Let's see how this all comes
together.
All right.
Our first world premiere ever,
ever, ever is "The Art of the
Impossible.
Inside the extraordinary world
of Monument Valley 2."
Well, why did we choose this?
First and foremost, it comes
back to our first principle,
which was Monument Valley 2 is
an awesome, awesome game.
How many folks have tried it so
far?
Since Monday release.
I can say I have not even got
very far.
But it's a phenomenal,
phenomenal game.
And Ustwo did a great job with
this.
So first and foremost, we chose
Monument Valley 2 as our world
premiere because the game is
flat our awesome.
Secondly, the Ustwo team gave us
great access to their
development process.
They allowed us in and we got to
meet with some of their
creatives and speak to some of
their art directors about what
inspired them to make Monument
Valley 2.
That was really interesting and
exciting for us because we knew
we could tell that story, then,
to customers.
And thirdly, we knew we had a
great story for customers about
Monument Valley 2.
And of course it helped that it
was only available on iOS.
All right.
There's a moment in the third
stage of Monument Valley 2 when
a landslide separates mother
from child.
I actually did get to this
level.
To get her little one back, mom
must navigate through intricate,
artfully-crafted puzzle that
constantly evolves.
There was an actual moment, I
got to it later, but one of our
game editors, this really
happened to him.
He was playing and it's like "Oh
my God.
It was such an awesome moment."
Then they embrace after.
And it really kind of moved him.
And we said, "You know what?
That's the intro to our Monument
Valley 2 story."
We've seen some of the beautiful
designs.
We've seen how the copy flows in
between these great images and
in-line video.
And of course, we have pull
quotes.
Apple didn't invent pull quotes,
but it's really nice to see them
on the App Store.
Here we quoted us to studio head
Dan Gray, who wants to change
people's perceptions of what
games can be.
That's our first world premiere
of Monument Valley 2.
Here is our first How To column.
Monika spoke about a little bit
earlier.
And you know what?
There are many, many ways we
could have spoken about VSCO.
It's one of our favorite apps
and one of our favorite photo
filter apps for a long, long
time.
And here we wanted to -- we felt
the most helpful angle would be
kind of a basic primer of some
of the new features of VSCO that
many customers may not have used
yet.
Well, let's look at some of
them.
Don't fall on stage.
Like a good denim jacket -- it's
funny, we had this image.
It was initially the phrase is
often "like a good leather
jacket."
We changed it to "like a good
denim jacket."
How many people love the denim
jacket that we gave out WWDC
Swag this year?
So I'm glad, actually.
Round of applause for the denim
jackets.
[ Applause ]
Well here you are right here.
Like a good denim jacket.
VSCO's got a coolness factor
that can't be measured.
All right, we wanted to talk
about creating gifts.
Many folks don't know that you
can create gifts in VSCO.
It's a feature that many users,
both amateur and pro, love to
see.
That was number one.
We go now, we can make journals
of VSCO.
We talk about some of their free
filters.
And of course, we end here with
the kind of hidden, if you will,
social network that's within
VSCO.
Tip number five, you can
socialize without having to go
anywhere else.
So this was our first How To
story.
This is very interesting because
one of the biggest challenges
about App Store Editorial is how
can we serve a billion people
with perspective?
That's really, really, really
hard.
Well, you have to figure out
first who you want to speak to.
And it's as important to us on
the App Store to talk to new
users as it is to talk to
advanced users.
So this is column is more for an
advanced user.
We call this a Deep Dive.
Here's it's a conversation about
causality.
One of my game editors was
really excited when he got to
level 201 because everything
changes on level 201.
You want to feel like a genius,
well, you better get there
first.
So this was a story about a
great game in a kind of deeper
context.
We talk about culture and
entertainment, all right?
It's the NBA finals.
We know that game is on tonight.
Go Warriors!
I better not say anything else
in San Jose, California.
Go Warriors.
And when you look at culture and
entertainment through the lens
of apps, there are two actual
ways that you can enjoy it.
Of course, you can watch the
game live anywhere you are on
ESPN.
But you can also play the game
on NBA Live.
And you can imitate Steph Curry
or LeBron or whoever you'd like
to be on the game itself.
In many ways the game is
probably going to be as good as
-- the video game is going to
imitate the real-life game and
back and forth, seeing how these
players are breaking all these
records these days.
So that's our culture and
entertainment story.
A couple of examples.
If there's one thing this
morning I love all of you to
leave here and remember about
the all new App Store is that
there are more ways to be
featured than ever, ever before.
We talked about "Meet the
Developer."
Well, yes.
You can get interviewed.
Our debut "Meet the Developer"
piece featured Michelle Kennedy,
the creator of a wonderful new
social media app called Peanut,
which is dedicated to moms.
It's our "Meet the Developer"
column.
We talked to her about many
things, about her UI and some of
the feature innovations.
And we talked to her about some
of the feedback she's received
from her Peanut social media app
and who it's for.
So we're really excited to have
a kind of deeper cultural
conversation about an app that's
really meaningful to a lot of
folks.
"Peanut is human interaction in
real life, facilitated by
technology," Michelle said.
Another way you can get featured
is, of course, App of the Day.
Here we chose Hit List.
Game of the Day, Super Senso.
Strategic sci-fi combat.
Let me pause for a second and
talk about App of the Day and
Game of the Day.
We still have Editor's Choice
for sure.
In fact, Editor's Choice is now
a badge on our new product
pages.
App of the Day and Game of the
Day give us a third option of
really honoring all the great
work you do.
Think of Editor's Choice like
our Oscars.
Like our Best Picture, if you
will.
App of the Day and Game of the
Day are going to be similarly
high quality, super awesome
apps, but they'll also be pegged
to a story that we may want to
tell.
Another way to be featured is
Collections.
Collections are going to be on
the Games and Apps tab.
They are also going to be here
on Today with a cool new design.
You will see here that Heroes,
what we call Heroes on the Apps
tab.
Here we have AirBNB to
rediscover this.
And we have Injustice 2 as a new
game in the Games tab.
Another way to be featured is
lists, lists and more lists.
Our debut one is "15 Inspired
Indie Games."
Customers irrespective of the
media love lists.
And we love them as well on the
App Store as well.
All right.
This brings us to the end.
The big, big question.
I hope you've enjoyed our kind
of editorial vision.
It really is a marriage of
expert curation with this idea
of engaging stories and content
for our customers.
But really all we want to know
is this: How do you reach us?
Well, I'm happy to announce, and
many of you, many have already
seen it.
But I'm happy to announce that
on AppStore.com/promote, that
will redirect to the new
Developer page where not only
will we ask you about your app
and your game and the features
and what's cool about it.
We'll also have a new area where
it says, "Tell us your story."
We're really, really excited to
hear all of the stories you have
to share with us about your
creative process and what you
want to share with your
customers about apps and games.
So thank you so much.
We're really excited to be on
this journey together.
Thank you so much.
I'd like now to bring back Mr.
Pedraum Pardehpoosh to bring us
home.
>> Thanks, Smokey.
So you heard some insights into
the why we did this redesign
from the lead designer herself.
This is a pretty special thing.
And you heard the insights from
Smokey about our doubling down
on editorial.
And got contact information for
how to get in touch with the
Editorial Team.
This is the dawn of a new day, I
think it's safe to say.
But let's not lose sight of the
fact that ultimately all of
these efforts are meant to
improve the discoverability of
apps and games on the App Store.
By giving people a reason to
come back to the App Store every
day and giving the context of
why we're making the
recommendations that we are.
This redesign is more than just
a facelift.
It's created new opportunities
to get discovered that haven't
existed before.
Whether it's being included in
one of the stories that Smokey
outlined or appearing in the new
Apps and Games tabs, which give
focus to each of those areas.
But as always, you shouldn't
just rely on being featured by
the App Store to improve your
app discovery.
There's things you can do even
starting now to get ready for
the new App Store.
And we're going to talk just a
couple minutes about them.
The first thing is in-app
purchases.
By way of quick review, in-app
purchases now have a presence on
the App Store.
They can appear on the product
details page.
In featured content areas.
In search results.
And on your product page, excuse
me.
This new ability combined with
the new Subscriptions features
that we announced last year,
giving you brand new
opportunities for creating
sustainable businesses.
So you'll want to start thinking
now about the title of these
in-app purchases and the
description and the image that
you're going to use for them,
particularly now that they have
such increased visibility.
There's a couple of StoreKit
sessions and an iTunes Connect
session where you can get more
information about this.
We'll review those at the end.
Titles are now 30 characters in
the App Store, in the all new
App Store.
But in addition, you will have a
subtitle.
Monika showed this in context as
well.
You'll want to think carefully
about how to use this subtitle
to convey what your app does.
To give a little bit more
information about it.
To say something compelling.
But don't be misleading.
Consider using your subtitle to
highlight a feature or a typical
use of your app that'll resonate
with your audience.
And this subtitle will follow
your app title around throughout
the app store, whether it's in
the Apps or the Games tab, on a
product page or in search
results.
Let's talk about video app
previews.
We know that when customers
engage with these video app
previews, customers tend to
download that app or game more.
And so we thought about, "Well,
how can we make it more obvious
that these are videos?"
Well, auto-playing is one way
you can do that.
And so we really encourage you,
particularly now that you can
have three of them.
And they can be localized.
You should really be thinking
about how to create a video that
encourages customers to download
your app or game.
We think video is a big deal on
the App Store.
You can learn more about what
makes a compelling video by
visiting the site, and by
visiting the App Store labs.
Now, in addition to your app
description, you can have 170
characters of text, which can be
updated any time.
We call this Promo Text.
This will get concatenated on
top of your app description.
And it won't require an app
update.
This is a great way to talk
about one of the new features
that's a temporary feature or a
price promotion that you're
having or some new accolade that
your app has received.
This is something else that you
can start thinking about right
now.
Let's talk about ratings and
reviews.
This got some applause.
This warms my heart.
We did a couple things in iOS
10.3 releasing a Reviews API.
And allowing developers to
respond to reviews.
And the response has been
tremendous.
We've seen almost 400,000 --
this number's actually a little
old.
We've seen almost 400,000
responses to reviews since the
launch of this.
And we know that when customers
go back and change their rating
based on a response that they
have received from a developer,
overwhelmingly that change in
direction is in a positive way.
So this is really important.
In the new App Store, as Monika
mentioned, we no longer reset
app rating when you submit a new
version.
Which is awesome for many
developers.
Some developers wouldn't mind
resetting that rating.
And now, with the new App Store,
with each submission you're
going to have the ability to do
so, to reset your rating.
But you should be careful about
that.
It sounds like an interesting
option.
But we know that customers value
that rating or seeing that an
app has ratings, a lot, when
they're making a download
decision.
So you will want to be careful
about that.
You can get advice about best
practices associated with
responding to customer reviews
by visiting this URL.
And like we mentioned, we
strongly recommend you make
responding to customer reviews a
regular part of your customer
service hygiene.
And in fact, in July, in iTunes
Connect, we'll be enabling a new
role in iTunes Connect for
customer service so that you can
have somebody that's focused
just on that and doesn't have
access to other elements inside
there.
We're constantly improving the
way Core Search works in the
Apps Store.
But the most visible thing we've
done this year is by adding the
stories that our editors are
writing.
Additionally, in-app purchases,
categories and developers will
be able to appear in these
search results as well.
Speaking of search, last year we
announced Search Ads.
And it launched in the US.
And it launched in the UK,
Australia and New Zealand in
April.
The results have been really
strong for advertisers.
High tap through rates.
Conversion rates above 50%.
And cost per acquisition just
over a dollar.
These are really impressive
numbers for those that know
stuff about advertising.
An apps flyer industry study
published earlier this year
described the quality of users
Search Ads delivers were the
best 30-day retention rate for
iOS apps and a top three ranking
for games.
We're working hard to deliver
opportunities to drive downloads
and engagement with your apps.
And bringing Search Ads to more
of the markets that you've told
us are important to your
business.
Many developers large and small
have already taken advantage of
it.
And this is another thing you'll
want to consult with us about to
find out if it's right for you.
In summary, there's plenty for
you to be thinking about even
now in advance of iOS 11
shipping as it relates to your
app's presence in the Apps.
And we hope you take advantage
of the folks that are here from
the App Store this week to learn
more about this.
For more information on this
session you can visit this site.
There are related sessions
listed as well as labs.
Come speak with us.
Last thing I want to say is that
it was my honor to be able to
introduce this new App Store
that's been a few years in the
running.
But it was done with a lot of
cross-functional work.
I know some of those folks in
the audience today.
Those that work in the App Store
please stand up for a second to
get recognized.
Give it up for these folks who
have been working their butts
off.
[ Applause ]
Thank you, everybody.