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Apple may dump App Store top grossing charts in iOS 11

Could have wide impact on industry and consumers

Apple may dump App Store top grossing charts in iOS 11

Apple may be set to ditch the App Store top grossing charts after the rankings were omitted from the developer beta for iOS 11.

A revamped App Store design has already been shown off during the WWDC keynote, but the preview did not show the top grossing charts.

Developers on Twitter and user acquisition expert Eric Seufert over on Mobile Dev Memo are also reporting that it’s nowhere to be found in the beta version of iOS 11.

New-look App Store

There is a chance that Apple could add in the top grossing charts before the full release of its latest operating system in the autumn, however.

But if it doesn’t, the decision could have wide reaching implications how apps are discovered and app intelligence.

The top download charts will remain.

For consumers, it could be argued that ditching the grossing charts makes sense.

Apple seems to be doubling down on curation for its new App Store and the fact that a game is making more money than another is not necessarily useful for the general consumer. Whereas apps attuned with their tastes and a better app discovery experience is.

It could have a big impact on app intelligence however. The grossing charts help provide an indication of how the market is performing and the trends within it.

A screenshot of the App Store charts for iOS 11, which only shows top paid and top free charts

Of course, as Seufert notes, the top grossing charts don’t take into account sources of revenue generation such as ads – which more and more developers are implementing into their games.

If Apple is indeed removing the top grossing charts, it’s still not clear whether it would stop providing this data to the industry completely.

If it does shut off this data, it will have a significant impact on how app intelligence firms measure their data.

We have reached out to Apple for comment.

Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.