The Apple App Store for iOS 7.1 may just Jedi mind trick you into finding the perfect app. This is not the app you're looking for, the App Store now hints. Search for checklist, daily planner or agenda instead.
The App Store is now giving suggestions to some iOS 7.1 users whenever they start searching for an app. The new related search function is incredibly useful for those of us who aren't completely in tune with the best search keywords for certain apps. It can be hard to find what you're really looking for on the App Store, especially if you don't have a specific app in mind that you happen to know by name.
Currently, Apple seems to just be testing the feature out on iOS 7.1 enabled iPhones, but given the positive response we're seeing on the Internet to this trial run, it looks like related search is here to stay in the App Store. So far, iPad and desktop users haven't seen the related search function popping up and it's only appearing in the United States at the moment. However, Apple stated that a full roll-out of the related search function should come by the end of this week.
Previously, related app searches were simply delegated to a subsection under the heading of an app for which you had already searched and read the description. Now, Apple is making it easier for would-be app buyers to find the apps they are really looking for. The App Store is severely overcrowded and includes more than 1 million apps, making it nearly impossible to find relevant apps.
Searching on the App store is something like a shot in the dark for many users. Most people just find apps by accident because the App Store puts them in recommended lists or features them in some way. Others find their apps based on recommendations from friends and tech pundits, but up until now, the App Store has done very little to help people along in the quest for the perfect app.
The new related search function will definitely assist iOS users in their app-buying choices and give app downloads a boost. App developers will also have more incentive to make good quality apps, in hopes that Apple will give their apps a boost in the related search terms. Apple will also undoubtedly use the relate search function to control the results you see, promoting its own apps over third-party apps. For example, a search for maps turns up Apple Maps before Google Maps, while a search for music turns up iTunes Radio before Spotify and Pandora.
