WWDC24: Key Highlights & Insights for App Marketers and Developers

ASO Industry News

Hagar Seri

Nadav Pesti

Lital Castel 20 June 2024

Apple’s WWDC24 was a landmark event that brought many exciting updates to the company’s platforms, products, and services. 

From the highly anticipated Apple Intelligence to iOS 18 and new marketing features in App Store Connect, we’re diving into everything app marketers and developers need to know to stay ahead of the game and maximize results—along with insights from Moburst’s mobile marketing experts.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in!

1. Apple Intelligence: Smart Features for Smarter Apps

One of the standout announcements from WWDC24 is Apple Intelligence, an advanced AI system that integrates generative models with personal context to make Apple devices smarter and more intuitive. It integrates AI-driven features directly into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, enhancing functionality and personalization across Apple’s ecosystem. 

Imagine having a personal assistant who knows exactly what you need and when you need it. That’s Apple Intelligence in a nutshell. And let’s be honest, Apple Intelligence is a clever rebranding of AI—making “AI” sound like it was Apple’s idea all along!

How to Leverage Apple Intelligence for Your App

Apple Intelligence is more than just a technological leap; it’s a tool that can significantly enhance your app’s engagement and conversion rates. Here’s how:

• Enhanced App Discoverability: Apple Intelligence provides Siri with enhanced action capabilities. By using predefined “App Intents,” you can give Siri the ability to make your app’s actions more discoverable in places like Spotlight, the Shortcuts app, Control Center, and more. 

By integrating with Siri, your app’s functionalities can pop up in everyday situations, making users more likely to engage with them. For example, a fitness app can let Siri remind users to log their workouts or start a guided session right when they need it.

• Personalized User Experiences: Siri’s upgraded conversational abilities make interactions feel like friendly chats rather than robotic responses. 

Let’s say you have a shopping app. With these new capabilities, you can help users find the perfect pair of shoes based on their previous searches and preferences, creating a personalized shopping experience.

• Increased User Engagement: Apple Intelligence can help boost user retention and engagement for your app by offering timely and relevant suggestions. For instance, a travel app can remind users about flight check-ins or suggest nearby attractions, keeping them engaged and satisfied.

So, how can you implement these capabilities into your app to gain an edge over your competitors?

• Integrate with Siri: Use predefined App Intents to ensure your app’s actions are easily accessible through Siri, Spotlight, and Shortcuts. 
• Optimize for Context: Tailor the user experience based on individual behavior and context. Just like a barista who knows your usual order, make sure your app anticipates what users want before they even ask.
• Focus on Usability: At the end of the day, if your app isn’t useful to users, they will quickly uninstall it. This is why it’s crucial to ensure that integrating Apple Intelligence into your app makes it more user-friendly and intuitive. 

2. Nominate Your App to be Featured on the App Store

Another exciting update announced during the event was the ability to nominate apps for editorial features on the App Store through App Store Connect. 

This feature, coming later this year alongside the release of iOS 18, allows you to share details about your app’s upcoming content, enhancements, or even new app launches directly with Apple’s editorial team, increasing the chances of being featured on the App Store.

Here are our top tips to help you get started:

• Submit Early: Provide detailed information about your app’s new content, enhancements, or launch plans in App Store Connect. Make sure to include an expected publish date and relevant countries or regions.
• Edit and Refine: Continuously update your nominations to reflect new developments and highlight the most significant changes to catch the editorial team’s eye.

• Maximize Reach: Select all relevant localizations and platforms (iPhone, iPad, etc.) to ensure your app’s features are considered globally.
• Add Context: Include helpful details to give Apple’s editorial team additional context for consideration and make your submission more compelling.
• Create Multiple Submissions:  Increase your chances of being featured by submitting multiple nominations, each focusing on different aspects or updates of your app.

3. Custom Product Pages (CPPs) Now Support Deep Links

Apple has introduced support for deep links in Custom Product Pages (CPPs), providing a powerful new tool for app marketers. This allows you to direct users from specific product pages on the App Store to relevant places within your app, enhancing the user journey and increasing conversion rates.

• Deep links can be any custom URL or universal link recognized by your app’s code, and they are configured in App Store Connect. When users click on your ad, these links take them directly to the specific in-app content, enhancing the user experience.

Integrating deep links with Apple Search Ads will ensure a consistent user experience from the ad to the app. 

• Imagine running a promotion for a new feature in your app: with deep links, you can guide users straight to that feature, increasing engagement and retention. For instance, a meditation app can direct users to a specific session, or a shopping app can take them to a sale page.

• To set up deep links, assign your desired URLs in App Store Connect. Soon, this feature will integrate with Apple Search Ads, adding more power to your campaigns.

To make the most of your CPPs, make sure to optimize your app’s landing pages for the best user experience, track performance with analytics, and adjust based on user feedback. 

4. Promote Your App on Social Media

Apple is making it easier than ever to promote your app on social media directly from the App Store Connect app. This new feature, coming later this year, will allow you to generate and share marketing assets effortlessly, helping you to reach a wider audience and increase downloads. 

Here’s how you can leverage this feature:

Generate Marketing Assets

The App Store Connect app lets you create visual assets to highlight your app’s key moments, such as new launches, updates, or being featured as App of the Day. High-quality marketing assets shared on social media can significantly boost your app’s visibility and attract more downloads.

Easily Share to Social Media

Once your marketing assets are ready, you can share them directly from the App Store Connect app to your social media channels. This process makes composing and publishing posts quickly easy, keeping your audience informed and engaged with your most important updates.

Get Notified When Featured

If your app gets featured on the App Store, you’ll receive a notification. You can then select your marketing assets, share the news on social media, and celebrate with your audience. Automated animations can also be generated to make your posts more engaging.

5. Icon Customization

Apple’s latest updates offer iPhone users more customization options, impacting how app icons are displayed. 

Users can now change the tint of app icons, which means brand colors might not always be visible. 

• We recommend including recognizable elements or text in your app icon to ensure it remains identifiable. You can A/B test different icon designs to see which ones maintain brand recognition despite color changes.

Users can now also freely arrange apps and widgets on the Home Screen, apply dark or tinted effects, and resize icons and widgets.

• This added flexibility means your app icon needs to stand out in various configurations and placements. Incorporating distinct, recognizable brand elements in your app icon is a good way to maintain visibility and consistency. 

Lastly, utility apps can use the new Controls API to add actions to the Control Center or Lock Screen, improving feature discoverability and user convenience. 

6. Leverage Win-Back Offers to Re-Engage Users

Apple’s latest event introduced ‘Win-Back Offers’—a powerful tool to encourage former subscribers to re-subscribe directly through the App Store. 

Here’s how app marketers can make the most of this feature:

• Set Up Customized Offers: You can set up customized offers in App Store Connect. For example, you might offer a reduced subscription price for three months, targeting users whose subscriptions expired at least a month ago but who had been subscribers for at least six months.
• Utilize StoreKit 2 APIs: Make sure your app uses the latest StoreKit 2 APIs to manage and present these offers within your app effectively.

• Offer Codes on macOS: Provide discounted or free subscriptions in your macOS app, share them through various channels, and have users redeem them within your app or using a redemption URL.
• Test and Optimize: To maximize the effectiveness of win-back offers, design appealing incentives that encourage former subscribers to return. Ensure your offers are prominently displayed across all relevant sections of the App Store to increase engagement. You can use Xcode to test your offers before a full rollout. 

7. Reduced Screenshot Requirements

Apple has simplified the minimum screenshot requirements in App Store Connect to streamline developers’ workflows. Instead of needing separate sets of screenshots for iOS and iPadOS apps, developers now only need to provide a single iPhone screenshot for iOS apps and a single iPad screenshot for iPadOS apps. This change can make preparing your app for submission easier and faster.

You can still provide additional screenshots for different iPhone and iPad display sizes if you prefer, but it’s no longer a mandatory requirement. This update will be available starting this fall, allowing developers to focus more on other aspects of app optimization and marketing without the burden of creating multiple sets of screenshots.

This is definitely a welcome quality-of-life update, so we hope it’s part of Apple’s broader effort to simplify and enhance the app submission process, making it more efficient for app marketers and developers to manage their apps on the App Store.

8. AdAttributionKit: Enhanced Ad Performance for iOS

Apple introduced AdAttributionKit (AAK) at WWDC24, a significant upgrade to SKAdNetwork designed to enhance re-engagement capabilities and support a wider range of marketplaces. 

AdAttributionKit (AAK) builds on the foundations of SKAdNetwork (SKAN) by retaining essential features like SourceID, 3 postbacks, 64 conversion values, crowd anonymity, privacy thresholds, and random delays. 

However, it does bring several new capabilities:

• Expanded Scope: Unlike SKAN, which was limited to the built-in App Store, AAK supports all marketplaces, including alternative stores.
• Re-engagement Support: AAK allows a single ad for both installs and re-engagements, with deep links redirecting users to specific locations within the advertiser’s app.

• Multiple Advertising Formats: AAK supports various ad formats, including static images, videos, audio, and interactive ads.
• Interoperability: AAK integrates seamlessly with SKAdNetwork, allowing advertisers to leverage both tools simultaneously.

These new capabilities will be available with iOS 18, making AAK a powerful tool for mobile marketers looking to enhance their campaign performance. By running in parallel with SKAN 4.0, marketers can maximize their campaign insights and performance.

9. Enhanced App Store Search with Focus State

Apple introduced ‘Focus State’ to App Store search, making it easier for users to find the best apps and games. Focus State offers recent and suggested searches, providing quick access to past searches and personalized suggestions to initiate searches more effortlessly. This feature aims to streamline the search process, helping users discover apps that best fit their needs.

With the integration of Focus State, app developers and marketers may be able to benefit from improved app discoverability and increased user engagement.

Hagar Seri

Hagar Seri is Moburst's Head of ASO & Mobile CRO. She specializes in App Store Optimization and works with dozens of apps and games in various categories to maximize their visibility and conversion rates in the app stores. Her spirit animal is the Giant Panda, and she's still waiting for her letter from Hogwarts.

Nadav Pesti

Nadav is Moburst's Head of Media Integrations & Data Analysis. He's an experienced growth hacker who specializes in helping our clients accelerate the development of their digital businesses through data-driven decision-making. He has an extensive technical understanding of performance marketing, social platforms, and analytics, as well as an eye for uncovering new trends and improving performance.

Lital Castel

Lital is Moburst’s Content Manager & Email Marketing Specialist. She specializes in coming up with engaging ideas and research to capture the trendiest topics in the digital and mobile marketing world. She is passionate about productivity and optimizing your day, but you can probably find her playing video games while cuddling with her dog on the couch to wind down at the end of a long day.

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