Apple developers can't change app screenshots on App Store at will

In an announcement on its Developer blog, Apple has affirmed that app screenshots will now be locked in iTunes Connect once an app has been approved. App developers may upload their new screenshots while submitting a binary for an update to an existing app or a new app. Taking advantage of the lack of such a mechanism earlier, miscreants would replace the screenshots with those from other popular apps to trick users into buying them. A move as such essentially means that developers are no longer free to update screenshots of their apps once they go up on the App Store except, of course, when there’s an update (like mentioned above). Mashable reports, “An example of this tactic is an app called 'Mooncraft', which leads customers to believe that they are buying a version of the popular game, 'Minecraft'."

Preventing scams

As on November last year, Apple approved one million apps for its App Store, an application discovery company, Appsfire tweeted. Elaborating on the tweet, a report by The Next Web stated that Ouriel Ohayon, the co-founder of Appsfire, has informed TNW that one million submissions were made to the Apple App Store since 2008. Out of those, 493,289 were paid apps and 158,848 were games. Of the 736,247 apps currently live, 336,270 apps (approx 45 percent) are paid apps.

The report by The Next Web read, “While it’s unlikely that Apple will publicly share the fact — the company traditionally focuses on the number of live apps in its App Store — it shows how big the marketplace has become. The Store itself is accessed by a large percentage of Apple’s 400 million iTunes account holders, accounting for 35 billion downloads in it four year life.”

Commenting on the App Store and the downloads at the iPhone 5 event, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that 90 percent of the apps that are available on the App Store were downloaded every month. He stated, “The average customer now is using over 100 apps. It’s been an absolute revolution. It’s phenomenal. Together with the incredible products, these have helped us achieve an incredible milestone."