Apple has introduced reviews to its own applications, allowing users to praise or criticize the company's own software as they would a third party app.
This feature, one should state, was added very sneakily, with the only report of it being an article in 9to5Mac (which makes sense, considering the name). While the addition of such a small feature does not in and of itself count as newsworthy, which is why it wasn't reported on by Apple, other reasons could be at play. To be more specific, Apple probably wants feedback, but doesn't want a barrage of trolls leaving rubbish reviews at their first given chance. Letting users discover that they can leave reviews on things such as Maps and Mail in a more organic way can help circumvent a lot of that turbulence.
The inclusion of reviews on Apple's own products could only mean that the company's now more open towards changing up the status quo and taking feedback. This could also be yet another step towards making it's own built-in apps resemble third party ones. Recently, the company introduced the ability to redownload Apple's in-house applications, if they had ever been uninstalled or deleted. This, combined with the reviews, could even mean that the company's looking to expand its line of apps outside of the App Store and towards other prospects, such as Google Play.
Of course, all of this is complete speculation, and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. However, something worth noting is that the stereotype of Apple's inbuilt apps being subpar is now backed by evidence. Despite the very low key addition of reviews, the apps aren't really doing very well on the limited quantity present. Apple's Podcasts sits at a measly 2 stars, with News only reaching out to 2.3 stars. Maps is faring a bit better, sitting at 3 stars as of the time this article is being written. However, if 3 is the best a batch has gotten, one begins to question the overall quality. The folks at Appfigures have also shared their data on Apple app rating in the App store.
Then again, maybe that's what inspired Apple to include reviews in the first place. If their apps are being constantly ridiculed and criticized, the best way to fix them would be to listen to constructive criticism. Public forums and memes are not constructive and all that helpful. Reviews, on the other hand, while possessing the power to be destructive, can often end up being helpful because of the sincere way in which most users write them.
Read next: Study, In India And Philippines It May Take Up to 7 Weeks Of Work To Buy A New Apple iPhone
This feature, one should state, was added very sneakily, with the only report of it being an article in 9to5Mac (which makes sense, considering the name). While the addition of such a small feature does not in and of itself count as newsworthy, which is why it wasn't reported on by Apple, other reasons could be at play. To be more specific, Apple probably wants feedback, but doesn't want a barrage of trolls leaving rubbish reviews at their first given chance. Letting users discover that they can leave reviews on things such as Maps and Mail in a more organic way can help circumvent a lot of that turbulence.
The inclusion of reviews on Apple's own products could only mean that the company's now more open towards changing up the status quo and taking feedback. This could also be yet another step towards making it's own built-in apps resemble third party ones. Recently, the company introduced the ability to redownload Apple's in-house applications, if they had ever been uninstalled or deleted. This, combined with the reviews, could even mean that the company's looking to expand its line of apps outside of the App Store and towards other prospects, such as Google Play.
Of course, all of this is complete speculation, and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt. However, something worth noting is that the stereotype of Apple's inbuilt apps being subpar is now backed by evidence. Despite the very low key addition of reviews, the apps aren't really doing very well on the limited quantity present. Apple's Podcasts sits at a measly 2 stars, with News only reaching out to 2.3 stars. Maps is faring a bit better, sitting at 3 stars as of the time this article is being written. However, if 3 is the best a batch has gotten, one begins to question the overall quality. The folks at Appfigures have also shared their data on Apple app rating in the App store.
Then again, maybe that's what inspired Apple to include reviews in the first place. If their apps are being constantly ridiculed and criticized, the best way to fix them would be to listen to constructive criticism. Public forums and memes are not constructive and all that helpful. Reviews, on the other hand, while possessing the power to be destructive, can often end up being helpful because of the sincere way in which most users write them.
Read next: Study, In India And Philippines It May Take Up to 7 Weeks Of Work To Buy A New Apple iPhone
