Apple pushes iPhone 6s pop-up ads to App Store users on older iPhones, angering users
Apple is beginning to push fullscreen pop-up ads for the iPhone 6s to people opening the App Store app on some older iPhone models, according to a rush of user complaints.
Via Reddit user evenifoutside
The ad presents a graphic with the slogan "ridiculously powerful," and highlighted options to "learn more" or "upgrade now," according to posts on sites like Twitter and Reddit. An option to skip to the regular App Store interface is found in the upper-right corner of the screen.
The pop-ups appear to be targeted at people using an iPhone 5s or earlier, and may have been enabled with Tuesday's release of iOS 9.2.
Apple has previously marketed new devices through things like App Store banners and collections, but this is the first time Apple has temporarily prevented people from using an app simply for the sake of marketing -- at least when excluding the Apple Music sign-up screen seen after launching the iOS Music app for the first time. Such ads are relatively common in third-party apps.
Apple is presumably eager to fuel iPhone sales during the winter holidays, since the device is its most important product and the holidays its most lucrative sales season.
Via Reddit user evenifoutside
The ad presents a graphic with the slogan "ridiculously powerful," and highlighted options to "learn more" or "upgrade now," according to posts on sites like Twitter and Reddit. An option to skip to the regular App Store interface is found in the upper-right corner of the screen.
The pop-ups appear to be targeted at people using an iPhone 5s or earlier, and may have been enabled with Tuesday's release of iOS 9.2.
Apple has previously marketed new devices through things like App Store banners and collections, but this is the first time Apple has temporarily prevented people from using an app simply for the sake of marketing -- at least when excluding the Apple Music sign-up screen seen after launching the iOS Music app for the first time. Such ads are relatively common in third-party apps.
Apple is presumably eager to fuel iPhone sales during the winter holidays, since the device is its most important product and the holidays its most lucrative sales season.
Comments
Seems like this should have only been targeted at iPhone 5 or older, given that customers can currently purchase the 5s as the entry-level iPhone model. That's kinda like buying a low-end/entry level model from a car manufacturer, open up the on-screen owner's manual, and it has a pop-up recommending you by the high-end/premium model. lol Though maybe they are looking up the user's associated device profile and determining the age of the phone and only showing it for phones of a certain age.
Would Jobs have allowed this?
No.
" $32.09, $32.09, $32.09, $32.09..."
This one pop-up isn't such a huge deal, but I hope it's not indicative of a shift in priorities.
The new Music app was the first of it. If you have a force-press phone, it contains an advertisement for the Apple Music service that cannot be removed and sits there day after day asking you to join up. Every time you upgrade and re-start music for the first time, it shoots an advert at you on top of the one on the force-press menu.
Hell since iOS 8, most of the time when you open a store in an Apple OS, even if you are clicking on a link from an upgrade notification, it takes you to the promotional screen first, then you have to purposely switch *back* to the upgrades tab. It's getting a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
If I wanted advertisements in my OS's, I would go with Google Chrome. If I pay MONEY for something, (a LOT of money in the case of Apple's products) it should be 100% advertisement free.
All companies advertise on their own sites.
Go right ahead and buy a cheap China POS that probably has backdoors to the Communist government
So you don't think companies should advertise in their own 'stores'?
If clicking on an 'x' is too much work for you, you should reconsider using a smartphone. A certain amount of ads is a fact of life. Deal with it. You are living in a dreamworld if you think you can get a phone and ecosystem that delivers ZERO ads to you. Just be happy that Apple ads are not obnixous.
So the App Store isn't Apple's store?
Ridiculous.
That's like saying a Walmart store isn't a Walmart store because they sell Sony products in it. Would you be offended if Walmart had Walmart Ads in their store?
Some of you guys are living in a dream world. Why is it so offensive to advertise iPhones to iPhone customers? Why is it so offensive for a company to advertise in its own store? Just because Apple didn't do this before (they actually do for decades on their website) does not mean they should never do it.
Targeted advertising WORKS. Deal with it. Or switch to Android
Users are complaining about this????
First world problems I guess.
I saw this ad yesterday and it was quite nice. All you have to do is press the X and it goes away.
update: I opened the App Store just now and the ad wasn't there. I guess it only pops up once.
I think it's quite worth more sales for Apple at the cost of a few whiners. I mean it literally takes half a second to "skip".
The App Store is Apple's store front.
Running ads in your own store front isn't a crime.
Its common sense.
Why wouldn't Apple advertise iPhone to iPhone customers?
The App Store has been running ads for years. Guess what those 'suggested Apps' are? Are those not ads?
Only petty fools are annoyed by a relevant ad that can be dismissed in less than a second. Apple doesn't give a crap about what Wall Street thinks about how they run their marketing division.