Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Yahoo’s AppSpot and App Search help you zero in on Android and iOS

Adam Rosenberg
By
yahoo-app-search
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Finding apps can be a headache. Apple has done all right with its various App Store rankings, but the e-tail frontend isn’t always the easiest to navigate. As for Android Market, that’s just a straight-up mess, especially if you happen to be among those who search outside the usual channels. Yahoo! is looking to make things easier on you with the launch of two new services designed to ferret out apps that you may not have found otherwise: AppSpot and App Search.

AppSpot is a literal app that you can download and use to find other apps. It sounds confusing, if only because that’s what the iOS and Android store frontends are for, but streamlining is what’s key here. The first time you load AppSpot, it asks if it can be allowed to look at what’s on your device. Say yes, because it will then use that information to make recommendations based on your tastes. Picks are largely pulled from what’s popular, which probably explains why I received the Justin Bieber Revenge rhythm game as a recommendation, but your own tastes and searches help color the selection as well.

Recommended Videos

Yahoo! also launched the companion App Search, a browser-based tool that pretty much does the same thing AppSpot does. It can’t look at the apps you have installed and build recommendations from them of course, but all of the basic search features are there. The big advantage you get with using this tool over AppSpot is the added screen real estate. The mobile app is easy to use, but the home screen feels a bit overcrowded with too-large app icons. That’s not an issue on the browser side.

Related

As mobile growth numbers have proven again and again, you can never have too many top seller lists. With low price points on many of the most popular downloads, a sale usually comes down to waving the latest cool, shiny thing in front of a potential buyer. App Store and Android Market already offer that in some form, and now Yahoo! is doing the same for both.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Adam Rosenberg
Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
How to add a different home screen wallpaper on iOS 17
An iPhone with iOS 16, showing the new Lock Screen.

If you haven't used an iPhone in a while, or if you haven't tried to update your lock screen, they you might be happy to learn about some of the new customization features that are available in iOS 17. Although iOS has made some controversial changes to its UI, such as moving the notifications to the bottom of the lock screen, they are also more welcome changes to the customization options for the lock screen.

Introduced in iOS 16 was a slew of lock screen customization features to let you tweak your phone's lock screen to your liking, and these same features are available in iOS 17 as well. While the lock screen used to be just a static image, you can now make it more dynamic with options like cycling through collections of your photos, so you can show off your favorite photos of your pets, your family, or beautiful locations that you've visited.

Read more
When will Apple release iOS 18? Here’s what we know
An iPhone 14 laying face-down on a wood table.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will start on Monday, June 10. During the conference keynote, the company is expected to unveil new software updates for its major products, including iOS 18 for iPhones.

iOS 18 is expected to be a major iPhone update, likely ushering in a new design and AI features. If you are wondering when you can get your hands on the latest software version, here's everything you need to know about iOS 18's release date.
When will the iOS 18 beta be released?

Read more
Everything you need to know about the massive Apple App Store outage
App Store on-screen illustration

Happy Wednesday evening, everyone! You're unwinding for the day, getting ready for a relaxing night, and ... you realize that the App Store and a bunch of other Apple services aren't working. Don't worry, you aren't alone.

What Apple services are down? When did the problems start? Is the outage still ongoing? Here's everything you need to know.
When did the App Store outage start?
According to DownDetector, reports of outages with the App Store flooded in a little after 6 p.m. ET. Reports appear to have spiked at over 6,000, indicating pretty widespread problems.

Read more