Apple rolls out App Store ‘Search Suggestions’ for more refined search results

The company has introduced improvements to the search function on its App Store and has begun rolling them out to a few countries.

FILE PHOTO - This March 19, 2018, file photo shows Apple's App Store app in Baltimore.  (AP)

Apple's App Store has around 2 million apps, across several categories and the number keeps increasing every day. Just like Google's Play Store, navigating the hundreds of alternative apps that have similar names can get quite difficult. Apple appears to be aware of the issues with navigating its app store, and it has now introduced improvements to the search function and rolling them out to a few countries.

Dubbed ‘Search Suggestions', the feature will help users narrow down what they are looking for from the huge number of results for simple search terms on the App Store. The suggestions will work the same way filters work on other search apps. If you search for a generic term like “clothing” on the store, you will see the usual search results, along with a new horizontal bar under the search bar that offers additional terms like “sale” or “discounts” and so on. The feature has rolled out to users in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

🗣 Introducing search suggestions on the App Store!

Select (or deselect) multiple suggestions to refine your search so you can find even more amazing apps and games.

Search suggestions roll out today starting with the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia. pic.twitter.com/viaZHlCZMb

— App Store (@AppStore) April 29, 2021

This feature could come in handy for users who aren't sure what search term to use - for example, if you search for clothes, but actually want an app that alerts you of upcoming discounts. The “discount” suggestion would help you narrow down your search to apps centred around discounts. This could also come in handy when looking for games – searching for racing games could return a suggestion for realistic racing games or arcade racing games instead.

The App Store isn't the only app that has been tweaked and improved – the Podcasts app now lets users “follow” shows instead of “following” them, in-app subscription options for paid podcasts and more. The Find My app has also been updated to support Apple's recently released AirTag object tracker, while the system now allows users to block app developers from tracking them across apps with the arrival of App Tracking Transparency with the iOS 14.5 update last Monday.