Apple has redesigned the web interface for its App Store, making it actually usable for people who aren’t viewing the store on Apple devices.
Before this update, users could see individual pages for apps on the web — which they probably found via a search engine — but there was no way to browse within the App Store. On a Macbook, navigating to an app’s iOS store page in the browser would prompt the native App Store software to launch. But on non-Apple hardware, this would lead you to a dead end.
The new interface allows users to browse apps by category, as well as by platform — there are separate sections for apps on the iPhone, iPad, Watch, and other devices. While users cannot currently download apps from the web, this functionality could possibly be added in later.
Admittedly, the subset of people who are trying to learn more about iOS apps from a Microsoft device, for example, is likely a small one — perhaps this would be useful to app developers or researchers working on products in both the iOS and Google ecosystems.
This redesign also signifies Apple’s continued push to portray itself as a more open ecosystem. For years, governments around the world have lodged complaints against Apple, accusing the company of acting as a monopoly to discourage competition — any step Apple takes to make its products more accessible beyond its own ecosystem is relevant to those ongoing legal battles.
