Apple overhauls app developer platform with 100 new metrics, more tools

There is big news today for app developers. No, App Store commissions are not reduced. Instead, Apple on Wednesday announced a significant update to its App Store Connect service, where developers publish, manage, and track the performance of their apps across the company’s platforms.

The changes bring more than 100 new metrics to track across areas such as monetization and subscription data, as well as others designed to help developers better understand the performance of their apps’ in-app purchases and how well their offerings are getting results.

There are already a number of third-party services that provide insight into app performance, including comprehensive app intelligence platforms, such as data.ai and Sensor Tower, as well as those dedicated to registered app developers, such as RevenueCat. However, the benefit of the new App Store Connect metrics is that they’re only based on Apple data — not ratings.

Among the added features are new subscription reports that can also be sent via an API, allowing developers to analyze the performance of their apps when offline, or import Apple data into their systems.

Developers will also be able to learn more about their users by analyzing their behavior on things like download date, source, first offer date, and more. With this, developers will be able to see how a certain group of users interacts with the application at a certain time, such as the expansion of one region compared to another, for example.

There are also new peer group benchmarks that allow developers to see how they compare to their competition in paid download conversions and revenue per download.

Apple notes that it uses aggregated data to protect user privacy, and uses different privacy strategies to protect individual developer operations.

As developers view their selected metrics in App Store Connect, they can take advantage of new filters to further refine their data. Apple says developers can apply up to seven filters at once.

Also, the company published a new App Store Analytics Guide in the App Store Connect Help section to help developers come up with data-driven strategies and better understand App Store tools and features.

While it can be argued that, App Store Connect should have been fixed, the timing of this release is worth noting. As AI becomes increasingly capable of doing more — especially among AI agents that can take actions on behalf of users — there is talk that the traditional app store model will be a thing of the past. The CEO of a smartphone maker There is no recent indication that smartphone apps will eventually disappear, for example, as the web fills with AI agents.

Apple, however, is trying to create a way in which AI enhances its profitable App Store system, instead of destroying it. Per Bloomberg, the company plans to announce an AI-powered Siri at its upcoming developer conference in June, which can complete tasks within apps.