Apple's editorial team selects apps for the Today, Apps, and Games tabs. Being featured is widely seen as the indie-iOS golden ticket. After being featured twice across the Tappa portfolio, here is the calmer truth.
What being featured actually does
- A 3–5 day spike in installs. Larger if you are featured in the Today tab, smaller if you are featured in a category.
- A bump in App Store rating during the spike, since the kind of users who download a featured app are biased toward giving good reviews.
- A light, lasting tailwind in algorithmic ranking for the following 4–8 weeks.
It does not transform a poorly retaining app into a great business. The users come, see the same app you had on day one, and the same percentage of them stick. If your retention is bad, a feature exposes it.
When to apply
Apple has a built-in form for featuring nominations, accessible via App Store Connect → App Information → Promote Your App. The form asks about upcoming launches, milestones, or stories the editorial team might find interesting.
Good reasons to apply:
- A major redesign with a clear narrative.
- A launch of a category-defining new feature.
- A company milestone (anniversary, X users, X-language localisation).
- An app with a strong story (founder origin, accessibility focus, environmental impact, etc.).
Bad reasons:
- "We just want a feature."
- "We are about to run a sale."
Apple's editors are looking for things they would want to write about. Give them a story.
The application materials
If you nominate, prepare a real press kit:
- 5–10 polished screenshots in multiple device frames.
- A 60-second app preview video (optional but useful).
- A one-page narrative on what the app is and why it matters now.
- A list of any third-party press, awards, or notable users.
This is not flexible. The editors triage hundreds of nominations. A weak press kit is a fast no.
What to do if you are featured
- Have your servers ready. The spike is fast.
- Do not push a major release the same week. You want a stable build.
- Use the moment to convert subscribers, not just installs. Make sure your trigger paywall is in good shape.
- After the spike, keep shipping at your normal cadence. The lasting value comes from continued momentum.
What to do if you are not
Most of us are not. Build for the long tail. Featured is great. The long tail is the business.
The single most useful editorial relationship
More valuable than being featured once is having one editor at Apple who knows your studio's name. The way to build that is by shipping consistently good apps over years, by running a clean operation that does not embarrass them when they do feature you, and by being easy to work with on the few occasions they reach out.
We focus on this. Featured will follow. Even if it does not, the underlying business is the point.