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The issue has been confirmed by Apple’s System Status website, which mentions that there was an issue in which “all users were affected.” The issue has since been resolved, and everything seems to be up and running now.
It’s important to mention that not all searches were affected — for example, while it seems as though searching for Spotify returned unrelated results, searching for Facebook and Twitter did not seem to do so. Still, it was enough to send Twitter into an outrage.
Just when I need updates, @AppStore is down :( #itunesdown #appstoredown @AppleOfficial
— pwiksell (@pwiksell) November 18, 2015
The App Store is failing in several countries. Search functionality gone down the tubes in UK. C'mon @AppStore get it fixed.
— Gareth Morgan (@Gareth_D_Morgan) May 5, 2016
In addition to the issues with the App Store search results, users found that App Store links also weren’t working — when a user clicked on a link to an app, it would instead lead to a page with an error message.
The whole debacle is unusual for Apple — sure, the company has had issues with the App Store in the past, but to have such widespread problems that affect so many people isn’t something that often happens for the firm. And while this issue probably isn’t that important, especially considering the fact that it has been resolved, problems like this certainly aren’t good for customer satisfaction or the firm’s image.
Developers have separately expressed dissatisfaction with the App Store in the past, saying that its design makes it too hard for customers to find their desired apps. Not only that, but it seems as though Apple lets developers pay for top spots in search results, meaning that developers who have more money can pay to get seen by more people, and that small developers can rarely find a large customer base.
