Apple has been showing ads in various places around its App Store for some time now. The company has already announced it plans to serve even more of them, but now we know when exactly that will start happening.
Apple will show more ads in App Store search results from March
The App Store search results will feature more ads starting in March. Apple announced the change on an advertising help page, saying that it will give “additional opportunities in search results.” In an email sent to developers and seen by MacRumors, the company said that the rollout of the extra search ads will begin on Tuesday, March 3.
Initially, the extra ads will appear in the App Store in the United Kingdom and Japan. All other markets, including the US and Europe, will follow by the end of March. The extra ads will be visible on iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 26.2 or iPadOS 26.2 or later.
On its website, Apple says that almost 65% of app downloads on the App Store happen directly after search.
To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries.
Apple, January 2025
Probably not the only change
Comparison of the old and the new App Store search ads design. | Image credit — 9to5Mac
While Apple hasn’t officially announced other changes, it’s likely that the ads in the App Store search results will soon look different. The company has been running an A/B test of a new ad design without the blue background that helps easily differentiate ads from organic search results.
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Have you ever found an App Store ad helpful?
Yes, I’ve found various nice apps through ads
18.18%
No, but I don’t mind the ads
18.18%
No, and the ads are usually useless
63.64%
That’s unsurprising, as the App Store is a significant part of Apple’s services business, and the company has been increasing the number of ads it shows over the years. The new increase follows the introduction of ads in the Today tab, which happened in 2022. Of course, Google also shows ads in the Play Store, so that’s nothing out of the ordinary.
More monetization opportunities
Last year, Apple rebranded its advertising business to Apple Ads, indicating that it may finally show ads in more places across its products. After all, selling billions of devices with several pre-installed apps is a fantastic opportunity to increase the company’s profit. I guess charging dearly for those devices is simply not enough anymore.
Ilia, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been covering the mobile industry since 2011, with experience at outlets like Forbes Bulgaria. Passionate about smartphones, tablets, and consumer tech, he blends deep industry knowledge with a personal fascination that began with his first Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. Originally from Bulgaria and now based in Lima, Peru, Ilia balances his tech obsessions with walking his dog, training at the gym, and slowly mastering Spanish.
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