App Store Gains Personalized Recommendations and New Developer Marketing Tools

The App Store is getting personalized app and game recommendations, alongside a set of expanded marketing tools for developers, Apple announced last week.

The headline change for users is a feature called Personalized Collections. It surfaces app and game suggestions tailored to a person's interests and behavior, and each recommendation is paired with an "App Note" that explains why a particular app is being shown.

Where the recommendations appear

Personalized Collections can show up across the Apps, Games, and Search tabs. Apple says the suggestions will shift over time as a user's download and usage habits change.

The feature is launching in English in the United States first, with more languages and regions to follow.

New tools for developers

For developers, Apple introduced Creative Assets, which are richer images and videos that can appear in a product page header and in search results. These go beyond the standard screenshots and app preview clips developers already use, and can highlight seasonal content, new features, or brand identity. They are compatible with custom product pages and Apple's existing product page optimization testing.

A new Asset Library in App Store Connect gives developers one place to manage these materials and reuse them across in-app events and promotions without uploading them again. Developers can also submit assets for App Review separately from a full app update, which Apple notes is useful for time sensitive campaigns.

Changes for the Mac App Store and In-App Purchases

Mac App Store apps and games no longer require Intel support, meaning developers can ship Apple silicon only binaries. Apple is also letting developers bundle multiple In-App Purchases into a single App Review submission to streamline the process.

A new social media disclosure tied to iOS 27

Apple said the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect will be updated in July. The change asks developers to indicate whether their app includes social media capabilities, such as interacting with user-generated content through a social feed.

That disclosure connects to new Time Allowances features coming in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. Those controls give parents more granular limits over how much time children spend in apps, broken out by categories including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media.