I think they did it to attract the "older generations" to the store. Now they can actually "see" the info on the page Without their bifocals . Ha Ha
I think it's a good move to update it. Before Apple had just slightly modified an iTunes album page and put app info into it, but now it's specifically designed around apps and games, with the details neatly along the left hand side. I like how it also shows more of an app's screenshots at once. Interestingly, the wider the user's iTunes window is, the more screenshots they'll see. If they have a large enough resolution they'll see all the screenshots at once. As for the description, I can see why devs are annoyed, but I'm not surprised they've changed it. It's become useless for buying apps… It's just lines and lines of promotional speech about sales followed by review snippets, I can't even figure out what the app DOES most of the time from the description. This change should push developers to utilize the first 3 lines more effectively, instead of just: The screenshots are the most informational aspect for games so we should be glad that gets more space. Ignoring the excellent new left sidebar, the rest could do with a little more tweaking.
I like the bigger screenshot, but I HATE that you can't see the entire description! What was apple thinking?!?!
It's downloaded already, just hidden. No bandwidth saved. Are the screenshots actually bigger? They look the same to me, but...I dunno The all white background gives the page an unorganized and amateurish feel. And, I agree, the tiny "more" button is stupid. I don't see a "less" button to reclose the info hah. I like that there are more than 3 reviews on the first page though. On a side note, I like being able to organize my iPhones icons in iTunes now. It could be better, but it is an improvement over doing it on the device alone. F'n Apple
I think the reduction of the description is good. With only three lines devs will be force to get to the point and say relevant stuff instead of ********* SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME****** I prefer the new layout. I have spent some time comparing both and I wrote about the main differences http://post.ly/ErLE
The new App Store design is a step in the wrong direction. Much more clicking (info text) and scrolling (pictures) needed. #FAIL Now checking out the store isn't a breeze anymore as it was before. But I guess we all will get used to it.
The good (for devs) + bigger icon + better info about rating, other games + bigger screenshots, more "in the face" + reviews are better exposed + support link is better exposed The not so good (for devs) - if you had a custom background/logo before, it is now removed - less space for the description (note however hardly anyone reads the desc) - layout is not as aesthetically pleasing in my opinion Now, how many remembers what it looked like before the previous face lift? Exactly, close to none.
This means users will be ripped off. Go look up Pac Man Champioship and look down the left. You can see the top in-app purchase. Given it's importance there is a stunningly small amount of space for it. Price is there. Now look for the Alchemize Mini. Look down the left (because we'll all be soon looking there). Nothing. Look at that entire page. No mention of DLC or price. Click to read more and in no way highlighted is the Unlock. No price. Scammy. They won't be the first. This means more people will buy and end up feeling conned. This is where people should remember that Apple is not their friend. They could make is better but this change is to make the purchase less indecisive, more seductive.
In my experience, people rarely read descriptions. Therefore, a strong headline would work much better than 10 paragraphs description. Also, the images are on frontal position now, which is just great. So I think Apple really improved the overall experience there. Good job! And let's not forget, that this could be an optimization for an upcoming Apple Tablet Cheers, ILIYA
I thought about it some more yesterday and came to the same conclusion. I revamped my description to have a stronger headline yesterday afternoon. I that way it forced me to focus on what the strong points are.
My be the description is a little bit too short now, hard to describe anything, looks like "Shooting game with multipl.. <more>". There is more place for the update description which is normally more interesting for people have already bought the app and will update with the App Store on the device anyway. So they should remove the update description and add 2 or 3 lines to the description, that would make it look more organized. The screenshots might look better with cover flow or so
I can't post a review with this new look! I found "Write a Review" Typed in everything, and the pop-up still comes back! It doesn't say 'Wrong Password" its just pops-back up
I don't know why people don't like it. I think it looks great! People have to just get used to the new look, then they will realize its cooler
Actually, now that I think about it, the new layout is okay. The only thing I highly dislike is the fact that it only shows 1-2 lines of the description. I think @mantia's mockup of the app description page looks a lot better, though: http://lmnt.me/u5bv
Actually as a costumer, I actually like the look. I've seen way too many lame descriptions that doesn't make sense and mostly promotes a limited time sale than anything about the actual app. The pictures could be a little smaller but not much as it makes it easier to see how crappy some of the apps really look compared to others. I think that apple is moving in the right direction but they need to tweak the apps page a little more and then it would be perfect in my opinion.
