| Mac App Store | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Front page | |
| Developer | Apple |
| Initial release | January 6, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-01-06) |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Type | Digital distribution andsoftware update |
| Website | www |
TheMac App Store (also known as theApp Store) is adigital distribution platform formacOS apps, often referred to as Mac apps,[1] created and maintained byApple. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's "Back to the Mac" event.[2][3][4] Apple began accepting app submissions fromregistered developers on November 3, 2010, in preparation for its launch.[5]
The Mac App Store was launched on January 6, 2011, as part of the free Mac OS X 10.6.6 update for all currentSnow Leopard users.[2][3] After 24 hours of release, Apple announced that there were over one million downloads.[6]
Like theApp Store oniOS andiPadOS, the Mac App Store is regulated by Apple.
To submit an app for consideration, the developer must be a member of the Apple Developer Program. As of March 2023,[update] the membership fee isUS$99 a year.[7]
Apps must be approved by Apple before becoming available on the store. Disallowed types of apps revealed by Apple include apps that:[8][9]
As with the iOS and iPadOS App Store, Apple rates applications worldwide based on their content, and determines the age group for which each is appropriate. macOS will allow blocking of objectionable apps in System Settings.
Since the opening of the Mac App Store, Apple has increasingly used it as the primary means of distribution of its own in-house software products at the expense of boxed versions being sold at itsretail stores. This position was increased with the July 2011 release ofOS X Lion, which was the first release of OS X not sold in the form ofDVD boxes. This method limited the reach of distribution of the operating system to those who currently use Mac OS X 10.6.6+, although other means offered by Apple after the release included a USB flash drive containing the operating system and a digital in-store download of the operating system through Apple Store locations. Starting fromOS X Mountain Lion, Apple's operating systems can only be downloaded from the Mac App Store.
This has also affected Apple's prior means of distribution through its own website, with the Downloads gallery being removed in July 2011 and replaced with links to the Mac App Store information page. However, it has not affected theDashboard widget gallery, nor has it affected the Safari Extensions gallery, both of which remain online and web-based (however, inSafari 12, the old type of extensions were deprecated and replaced by a newer type, available exclusively on the Mac App Store). Apple Support Download section also remains online, as it provides mostly security updates for current and older software applications and operating systems, many dating back to before 1998.
Not long after independent game developerWolfire Games placed its game,Lugaru, on the Mac App Store, asLugaru HD for $9.99, the developer noticed a counterfeit copy of their game also being sold on the App Store for US$0.99. The developer contacted Apple on January 31, 2011, and on February 10, 2011, the counterfeit copy of the game was removed from the App Store.[16]
A number of news sites have remarked that for all the scrutiny Apple places on apps listed in their store, a counterfeit copy of an existing app should not have made it through the process, and the days it had been since the developer had alerted Apple to the counterfeit software is disconcerting to developers.[17]
The Mac App Store launched with over 1,000 apps on January 6, 2011, including Apple's owniWork '09,iLife '11,Aperture, and third-party applications ported fromiOS, such asAngry Birds,Flight Control,Things andTwitter for Mac.[3][18][19][20] Most of the apps belonged to the Games category, which had nearly three times as many apps in the next largest category, Utilities.[19] The most common price point was $20–50.[19]Angry Birds, a popular video game on iOS App Store, was the number one paid app on the Mac App Store on the first day.[18]
An update to the Mac App Store forOS X Mountain Lion introduced anEaster egg in which, if one downloads an app from the Mac App Store and goes to one's app folder before the app has finished downloading, one will see the app's timestamp as "January 24, 1984, at 2:00 AM," the date the originalMacintosh went on sale. This is the first time an Easter egg has appeared in a piece of Apple software sinceSteve Jobs had declared a ban on Easter eggs when he returned to Apple in 1997.[21]
On November 11, 2015, a number of apps purchased through the Mac App Store began to fail at launch. Users worldwide got error messages and were forced to delete and re-download affected apps.[22] It was discovered the next day by Tapbots developer Paul Haddad that the issue had to do with an expired security certificate.[23] On November 17, Apple sent an email with explanations to developers. The company stated that most of the issues were resolved and that troubleshooting information was provided to theAppleCare support team.[24]
On December 17, 2015, responsibility for overseeing App Store was given toPhil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.[25] Previously App Store was led byEddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.
On January 1, 2018, Apple announced it was no longer accepting32-bit apps on the Mac App Store, while existing 32-bit apps on the App Store must be updated to fit the64-bit architecture by June 1, 2018.[15]
On June 4, 2018, Apple announced that a new version of the App Store would be included inmacOS Mojave based on the redesigned App Store introduced iniOS 11. This included new Create, Work, Play and Develop categories for apps, and a Discover tab curated by Apple's editors.[26]
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