app-store

Update: The app appears to have been removed two hours after our story was published.

The third most popular free iPhone app in the U.S. App Store today is a mysterious productivity app that’s only available in Russian. That’s a pretty obvious red flag that something isn’t quite what it seems.

All’s well that ends well in App Store review controversies. Back in March, a major agentic coding company made news when Apple reportedly pushed back on new versions of its iPhone app.

Two months later, the head of the company says they “worked things out with Apple,” and they have a big new app update to show for it.

Back in March, OpenAI abruptly pulled the plug on its Sora video app. Two months later, a pair of AI video generation apps is competing for the top of the App Store.

Epic Games has launched its Star Wars-themed Fortnite update for May, and the release comes with the arrival of Fortnite on the iPhone in Japan.

Fortnite returned to the iPhone and iPad in the US this month a year ago. Next, Epic Games is targeting iOS availability in another region soon. Meanwhile, Fortnite’s return to the Mac doesn’t sound too promising.

I love Apple Arcade. The game catalog really clicks with my son, and a single subscription unlocks hundreds of premium games. The best part is that the games have no ads or in-app purchases.

This makes for a much better gaming experience on his iPad. There’s just one feature I’d love to see Apple add.

Apple Arcade’s May lineup introduces four new titles today on the subscription gaming platform. Apple Arcade games have no ads and no in-app purchases.

Sports has defeated AI for the top of the App Store. March Madness is in full swing, and that’s knocked ChatGPT out of the top downloaded apps spot for today.

In fact, it’s not just one March Madness-related app pushing around the top AI apps.

Updated with Apple’s statement to 9to5Mac after the story.

AI is making app development easier than ever. However, a new report claims Apple’s App Store isn’t fully embracing these new tools. Companies behind two “vibe coding” apps that let you create tools by entering text prompts into an AI system say Apple is pushing back on the category.

How does AltStore compete with the App Store on discovery? It turns out embracing the Fediverse may be the answer. The first big AltStore PAL update since May brings new social web features and Liquid Glass design.

AI chatbots currently take up the top three spots on the US App Store’s Top Downloaded charts. For Anthropic’s Claude, which takes the first-place position right now, that’s a jump from 42nd place just two months ago.

Both Reddit and Discord have got themselves into trouble over age verification – Reddit for failing to properly check ages, and Discord for using a controversial third-party service.

Reddit has been fined £14.5 ($19.5M) million for the unlawful use of children’s personal information, while Discord has experienced a user backlash …

Apple has responded to complaints that it abuses its dominant position in the iPhone app market by making four promises to third-party developers about fairer treatment.

Developers and others are being asked for their comments on the proposals, and the UK’s antitrust regulator says it will be closely measuring the effectiveness of the measures …

In a new press release today, Apple is celebrating the success of its services division throughout 2025. The company says that 2025 was a “record-breaking year for Apple services,” with milestones for Apple Music, Apple TV, and more.

Three U.S. Senators have asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to temporarily remove X and Grok from the App Store due to “sickening content generation” in recent days.

Apple is expanding the number of ads that appear in App Store search results. In an update on its Apple Ads website today, the company detailed that it will introduce more ads “to increase opportunity in search results” starting next year.

To comply with the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), Apple has announced a set of major changes to the App Store and iPhone in Japan. The changes include new app distribution options for developers and new alternative payment rules for the App Store.

On the heels of unveiling the App Store Awards winners last week, Apple today unveiled the most downloaded apps and games of the year in the United States. This year, the most downloaded free iPhone app was ChatGPT, while the top paid iPhone app was HotSchedules.

Meanwhile, the top free iPhone game was Block Blast!, while the top paid iPhone game was Minecraft: Dream it, Build it.

Head below for the full list of the top iPhone and iPad apps and games of 2025.

After announcing the finalists last month, Apple today officially announced the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards. This year, the App Store Awards recognize 17 apps and games for their “technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact.”

The winners were selected by App Store Editors for “demonstrating exceptional innovation, user experience, and design.”

Roblox, one of the most popular kids’ apps in the world, is now requiring children as young as nine years old to submit a video selfie for age verification. Update: Following a partial launch in December of last year, the requirement is now being rolled out globally. The company says you will see the update within the next week.

While the developer is doing this for good reasons, it adds further weight to the argument that Apple and Google, rather than individual app developers, should be responsible for age verification …

Apple was today denied permission to appeal the result of a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by UK app developers accusing the company of abusive commission levels.

The company last month lost the case and a hearing today is deciding how the damages are calculated. If the ruling stands, it is expected to end up costing Apple anywhere between £1B and £2B ($1.3B to $2.6B) – but Apple is expected to counter this with four arguments …

Apple has removed two of the most popular gay dating apps in China from its App Store there to comply with a government order.

The company gave the usual statement it makes in such circumstances, but did provide little more detail in this particular case …