ASO Weekly: iOS 16 Beta, PlusCupid App & Third Party App Stores

June 24th, 2022

by Anh Nguyen

COO & Co-Founder at Gummicube, Inc

Welcome to this week’s ASO Weekly – Gummicube’s recurring segment where we discuss some of the biggest events in the mobile app industry, app store developments, and how they may affect your App Store Optimization strategy.

This week, we’ll be exploring:

iOS 16 beta 2 release
PlusCupid soars in the app stores
The Google Play Store facing competition from 3rd party app marketplace

iOS16 Beta 2 Makes its Debut

Now that we’re nearing the official public release of iOS 16 in July, iOS developers have given us a sneak peek into some of its cool, new features. The star of the show is, not surprisingly, the lock screen customizations.

Users will be able to add widgets and customize their phone screens with added personalization features like font and color changes, widgets, and dynamic wallpaper settings. Along with these wallpaper customizations though, there have been noticeable glitches and bugs with the new OS.

Some developers have noticed strange UI glitches with the wallpaper screen. One of the features of screen customization helps the user switch from different customize screens. When switching, the screen appears to be flash white in some instances among other cited issues.

Before the public launch, Apple hopes to hone in on the reported issues that the developers are facing.

Dating app Racks up Over 500,000 Downloads in 3 Months

Have you heard of the dating app, PlusCupid? Dating apps continue to rise in popularity ever since the Tinder boom of the early 2010s. From location, religion, occupation and everything in between, there seems to be a dating app for just about everyone looking for a connection online.

PlusCupid is a dating app specially designed for plus-sized people. Since its launch in March, it has gained over 500,000 downloads – an impressive feat for the competitive mobile dating app space.

There hasn’t been a dating app for plus-size people yet, but why? The space is largely dominated by non-look categories like location, interests, occupation, and status among others. In a way, PlusCupid is the first of its kind and includes a pool of users who are often overlooked in the dating app space on a marketing level.

Dating apps have seen a steady rise in popularity among Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X’ers, too. Having a metadata and creative strategy that captures your unique segments is crucial to spearheading competition in the category. Our ASO company has 12 years of experience optimizing apps from a broad range of categories – helping you find your audience with ASO technology.

The Rise of the Third-Party App Stores

A report from Android Authority states that nearly 45% of their surveyed Android users use Google Play alternatives for apps. Apple and Google have long been touted as a hub and repository for almost all mobile applications – not without consequence.

As both companies amass more pushback from international authorities for “monopolistic practices”, it seems as though this sentiment has trickled down to the public. A larger majority of people, however, cite that other marketplaces seem to have larger and broader options. Coupled with a growing sentiment that the apps on the app stores have seemed to dwindle in quality over the past decade. Users are also citing micro-pay games, intrusive ads and a general lack of distinction.

Overall

Will there be new app stores in the future? It’s difficult to say for the time being. After all, Apple and Google have review processes in place that help protect their OS users. Third-party app marketplaces may not be without consequences. With the iOS 16 release growing with anticipation, there’s lots to look forward to in the near future.

Want to learn more about App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.