Apple gives the App Store’s web interface a makeover

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After years of pretending the internet was a second-class citizen, Apple has finally done the unthinkable: it redesigned the web version of its App Store so it’s actually usable by, well, humans. 

The new interface feels like a long-overdue acknowledgment that not everyone peering into Apple’s walled garden does so from a shiny MacBook or iPhone.

Some are just humble Windows or Android users trying to see what the hype is about.

Previously, browsing apps on the web felt a bit like staring through a locked glass door. 

You could find individual app pages, usually through Google, but that’s where the journey ended. 

If you were on a Mac, clicking an App Store link would shove you toward the native App Store app. 

If you weren’t on Apple hardware, the link might as well have said, “Nice try, peasant.” There was no way to explore, no navigation, just a static glimpse of Apple’s curated kingdom.

Now, though, the new App Store web interface looks like it finally belongs in 2025. (Via: AppleInsider)

You can actually browse by categories, flip between platforms like iPhone, iPad, and Watch, and get a sense of what’s trending across Apple’s ecosystem without needing a single Apple device. 

It’s still a read-only experience, you can’t download anything (yet), but it’s a major step toward something resembling openness. 

It’s unclear who exactly this redesign is for. 

Maybe it’s for developers tracking competitors’ apps, journalists writing about Apple’s store economy, or curious Windows users who don’t want to dig out an old iPhone just to see what’s on offer. Still, it’s symbolic.

This revamp dovetails neatly with Apple’s broader attempts to look less like the digital gatekeeper it’s often accused of being. 

Regulators in the EU, US, and beyond have been poking at Apple’s App Store rules for years, arguing that it stifles competition. 

So while Apple’s web redesign may look like a simple facelift, it’s also a quiet PR move, a subtle reminder that maybe, just maybe, Apple is learning how to play nice with the open web.