App Store

The iPhone 2.0 software release will contain the App Store, a new application that lets users browse, search, purchase and wirelessly download third party applications directly onto their iPhone or iPod touch.

— Apple’s press release on March 6, 2008

Since the initial announcement, App Store kept its core structure. While adding new features, tweaking business basics and evolving UX. If you’re curious about detailed history, Stephen Hackett made a timeline of all changes.

The first App Store has a very iTunes alike design (iOS 2.0). With growing its popularity in 2009, App Store got new navigation, Genius Recommendations, “Top” tabs — Top Paid, Top Free and Top 25 (iOS 3.1). Such design wasn’t changed much in iOS 4 & iOS 5 updates.

With iOS 6 App Store got re-arranging of items, horizontally scrolling lists, a share button and many flipping in sections (2012). And in iOS 7 it was re-design massively with bright colors, white backgrounds, thin fonts, and vertically-scrolling lists. If you were using App Store in 2013 you might remember “Near Me” center tab, featuring popular apps near you.

While iOS 8 has many cool additions, App Store design hasn’t evolved a lot in 2014. Oh, wait, the center tab has changed to Explore with new navigation in categories and subcategories. That history repeated itself with iOS 9 in 2015.

Meet iOS 11 with “all-new App Store, designed from the ground” (2017). It has a new tab, called Today — daily destination all about games, apps and app culture. App Store also got Games and Apps tabs, App Product Pages and In-App Purchases. This dramatically changed the first experience of using Apple’s app marketplace. After long years App Store designed moved away from the music-like approach. This re-design and improvement were so good, that TechCrunch reported up to 800% increase on app downloads, specifically with the “App of the Day” or “Game of the Day” spots.

I haven’t seen major design changes to the App Store in iOS 12. But Apple changed the app discovery experience with personalized app spotlights & recommendations.