iOS App Store May Soon Offer Up Personalized App Recommendations

The Apple rumor mill is churning once more today, but instead of new whispers concerning the next iPhone or Apple's desire to enter the automotive business, this rumor is a little more innocent. According to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg, Apple may soon be redesigning the iOS App Store to feature a new recommendations tab tailored to each individual user.

This new "For You" tab will apparently signal a larger change for the iOS App Store, as these sources claim that Apple will be rolling out a new version of the store that works across and iPhone and iPad. Currently, the two platforms use different versions of the App Store, but that may all change rather quickly. According to these tipsters, the new, all-encompassing App Store apps could be going live in as little as two weeks.

Offering up a "For You" section in the App Store and using a download history to recommend similar apps would put Apple on the same level as Google and Amazon, two companies that have been doing similar things for a while. The Google Play Store regularly promotes apps that are similar to other apps individual users have downloaded, while Amazon curates the items you see based on what you've viewed and purchased before. This works out better in some cases than others, as one too many silly Amazon links from friends can turn your recommendations into a mish-mash of items you'd never dream of buying.

Privacy concerns have prevented Apple from implementing such a feature in the past, but considering there are now more than two million apps on the App Store, Apple and developers may see increased value in targeted ad recommendations. At the very least, it would be nice to have a unified App Store across iPad and iPhone, but we'll have to see how users react to a "For You" tab should Apple choose to reveal such a feature. Stay tuned.

SOURCE: Bloomberg