The research firm Fiksu, which keeps a track of changes in Apple’s App Store charts, has recently reported that the Cupertino-based company might be using new algorithms to rank music and apps in iTunes and App Store. The research firm believes that Apple has now incorporated user ratings along with the previous algorithms for its top charts, as previously the company used to rank an app according to the number of downloads and how swiftly an app is being downloaded. Here is an excerpt from the original report of Fisku in which the research firm says that:
“In late July, we first began to notice apps unexpectedly shifting position without a corresponding increase or decrease in downloads. Upon closer inspection, we discovered these position changes correlated with the apps’ ratings. As evidenced by the graph below, apps with ratings of 4 or more stars received a rank boost in late July and have maintained that rank throughout August. Poorly rated apps with less than 3 stars received the opposite treatment about two weeks later, dropping off precipitously in rank and staying that way. Average rated apps, between 3 and 4 stars, suffered a slight degradation in rank but have generally been less affected.”
Moreover, the research report of Fisku also indicated that in the last few weeks, Apple seems to be updating the top charts of App Store with different time interval as compared to the past. The company is now updating the charts after every three hours instead of 15 minutes interval. This change in the time interval of updating App Store chart made Fisku think that perhaps the increase could help Apple avert manipulation in the app charts. The research firm mentioned that “three hours allows enough time to identify anomalies and remove apps before they suddenly appear at the top of the rankings.”
“Additionally, Apple has in the past adjusted the timeframe of rank updates during periods of extremely high volume — specifically, during the infamous holiday ‘freezes’. Could it be that Apple is anticipating extraordinarily high volumes of downloads after the release of a rumored two new phones and a new iOS in September? Or is the change in the interface part of the rollout of the new algorithm — in other words, is Apple giving itself some buffer time to see how their new algorithm is affecting rank in the real world?”
Let’s see now to what extent Fisku’s observation turns out to be true because Apple has not officially confirmed this report.
Source: 9to5Mac
Photo: 9to5Mac
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