Mac App Store

The Mac App Store (also known as the App Store) is a digital distribution platform for macOS apps, often called Mac apps, created and maintained by Apple. It lets people find and download programs made for computers that use the macOS operating system.

The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, during Apple's "Back to the Mac" event. Apple started accepting apps from registered developers on November 3, 2010, getting ready for its launch.

The Mac App Store officially opened on January 6, 2011, as part of a free update for users of Mac OS X 10.6.6, which was called Snow Leopard. Just 24 hours after it launched, Apple shared that over one million people had downloaded apps from the store.

Regulations

Like the App Store on iOS and iPadOS, the Mac App Store has rules set by Apple.

Developers need to pay to join the Apple Developer Program, which costs US$99 each year as of March 2023. Before an app can be sold, Apple checks to make sure it follows the rules. Some apps are not allowed, such as those that change how a Mac normally looks or works, copy Apple products, or include harmful content. Apple also decides what age groups each app is suitable for, and parents can block certain apps if needed.

Usage by Apple

Since the Mac App Store opened, Apple has used it more and more to share its own software. Instead of selling software boxes in stores, Apple began offering its products through the Mac App Store. This change started with the release of OS X Lion in July 2011, which was the first version of the operating system not sold on DVD. From OS X Mountain Lion onward, Apple's operating systems could only be downloaded from the Mac App Store.

This shift also changed how Apple's website worked. The Downloads gallery was removed in July 2011 and replaced with links to the Mac App Store. However, some parts like the Dashboard widget gallery and Safari Extensions gallery stayed online. In Safari 12, older extensions were replaced with newer ones available only on the Mac App Store. The Apple Support Download section remains online to provide security updates for older software.

Counterfeit apps

Soon after the independent game developer Wolfire Games put its game, Lugaru, on the Mac App Store as Lugaru HD for $9.99, they found a fake copy of their game being sold for just US$0.99. The developer told Apple about this on January 31, 2011, and Apple took the fake game off the store on February 10, 2011.

Many news sites talked about how, even though Apple checks apps very carefully, a fake copy of a real game should not have gotten through. The time it took for Apple to remove the fake game after being told about it worried some developers.

History

The Mac App Store started on January 6, 2011, with over 1,000 apps. Some of these were made by Apple, like iWork '09 and iLife '11, and others were popular games from iOS, such as Angry Birds. Many of the apps were games, and the most common price was between $20 and $50.

Later, Apple made changes to the Mac App Store. For example, in 2018, they stopped accepting older types of apps and introduced a new design with different categories to help users find apps more easily.