When Apple allowed its native apps to be rated in the App Store, users immediately started writing about a large number of issues related to Apple Music, Podcasts, translators, and more. It’s hard to disagree with them, some mistakes sometimes make the software so useless that you want to download Yandex.Music and forget about the existence of any other options. Initially, the ratings were very low and did not exceed three stars, but after a couple of months, everything has changed dramatically. Do you think it’s a matter of a loyal audience that came a little later than the pioneers? Not at all. It’s just that Cupertino decided to cheat a little. This can be seen in the example of Podcasts, where more and more reviews began to appear not on the application from Apple, but on individual content authors.
When we touched on the issue of the shortcomings of native applications last time, I really wanted to give an example of their negative ratings in the App Store, but when I went to the application store, I was surprised to find that the rating, which was below the lower one, now flew to 4.8. I explained it to myself simply: everyone who wanted to pour out the pain did it a long time ago, and they were replaced by adequate users.
More recently, a third-party developer noticed that the rating for the Podcasts app went from 1.8 to 4.7 in just one month. It is clear that this could not happen by chance. After all, the app hasn’t been updated that drastically. The whole answer lay in the reviews, which were written not on the program in the App Store, but on the podcasts themselves.
Podcasts app on iPhone
The bottom line is this: in iOS 15.1, the Podcasts app started asking users to rate it and write their own review. In principle, this is a common practice used by many other companies through the tools in Settings.
If you go to Settings, App Store, Ratings & Reviews , you’ll see a toggle switch that allows apps to ask for product reviews and thereby helps developers and other users get your feedback. I found a device with iOS version 15.0.1 and this setting is also present there.
Then I took my phone on the latest firmware and actively listened to various podcasts for several hours to check what this notification looks like. Unfortunately, during the listening session, neither I nor others have seen anything like it.
As a result, it is completely unclear how exactly Apple decided to lure users into its rating boost program . Perhaps users were just listening to a podcast when they suddenly saw a notification asking for a rating and wrote something on the machine. It is also likely that someone just quickly wanted to close the application and quickly gave a grade.
I wonder who exactly Apple is suggesting to rate the app? You understand, algorithms can be built in a variety of ways. Perhaps the notification was received by those who listen to podcasts more often than others, perhaps they were chosen based on their geographic location. By the way, there are also Russian reviews of a similar plan. This is what I personally saw. Pay attention to the number of fives. There are a lot of them.
Apple deceives people
Don’t take our word for it, go to the App Store for yourself and see reviews on Podcasts . All of them usually rate it no higher than a three, but those who put it 5 almost always talk not about the software, but about the content itself in the application.
It turns out that Apple is simply deceiving users. If it seems to you that it’s okay, then you are greatly mistaken. There are a lot of results from this. First, the Apple Podcasts app has grown significantly in the top of the App Store , leaving its analogues behind.
Secondly, in third-party applications of this kind, you cannot cheat either. I looked at everyone who is in the top and saw that there are no fraudulent ratings cheating there.
Not everyone knows that Podcasts is a pre – installed application on the iPhone . People just go to the Apple store and look for a good place to listen to podcasts. As a result, they see that third-party software is much worse, which means that developers are losing a large number of audience.
So far, the scheme only applies to Podcasts. I checked all the other apps and noticed that the ratings are still not high there. Although Apple Music has also climbed recently. When I logged into the App Store before, the ratings were much lower.
