Blog · operator notes
What we check. What we skip.
ASOitis publishes short operator posts on App Store audits, listing work, and why ads fail when nobody can find you. Written the way the $99 audit is written: three questions, paste-ready copy, no 200-row keyword dump.
16 posts · most recent update 2026-10-15.
All posts
App icon design that lifts App Store conversion: what 106 top icons show, and Apple's 2026 rules
We measured the colours of 106 top App Store icons across 12 categories. Some niches have a strict visual convention; others have none. Here's what that means for your icon, plus Apple's Liquid Glass rules and how to test.
2026-10-15 · 6 min read
Read the post
How to make money with an app in 2026: the models, the real numbers, and what indie apps actually earn
Subscriptions, ads, lifetime plans and consumables — with the 2026 revenue data most guides leave out: what the median app earns, how few reach $10K a month, and what Apple takes.
2026-10-15 · 6 min read
Read the post
How to launch an iOS app in 2026: the complete checklist, from build requirements to launch week
Every requirement Apple enforces right now — SDK minimums, privacy manifests, age ratings, trader status, screenshots — in the order you'll hit them, plus the featuring and release decisions most indie launches miss.
2026-10-11 · 7 min read
Read the post
App Store screenshot sizes 2026: the required sizes, every device class, and iPhone Duo
The one iPhone size Apple requires isn't the one most cheat sheets list. Every current pixel size, the iPhone Duo requirement coming in 2027, app previews, and the new header assets.
2026-10-11 · 7 min read
Read the post
Hard paywall vs soft paywall in 2026: what the data says for indie subscription apps
RevenueCat says hard paywalls convert five times better. Adapty says soft paywalls convert better. Both are right — here's why, what Cal AI and QUITTR actually do, and how to choose.
2026-10-10 · 7 min read
Read the post
App onboarding that converts: what Cal AI, QUITTR and Glowly do before the paywall
We recorded three top subscription apps screen by screen. Two give you a result before the price; one holds it hostage. What they do with questions, permissions and accounts — and where Apple draws the line.
2026-10-10 · 7 min read
Read the post
ASO vs SEO in 2026: what's different, what carries over, and where they now overlap
App Store search and Google search reward different things. But your App Store page is also a web page — and the text Apple ignores for ranking is exactly what Google and ChatGPT read.
2026-10-10 · 7 min read
Read the post
SKStoreReviewController in 2026: how to ask for App Store ratings without annoying people (Swift)
SKStoreReviewController is deprecated. What replaced it, the three-prompts-a-year rule, working SwiftUI and UIKit code, and when to ask so the rating is a good one.
2026-10-09 · 8 min read
Read the post
The App Store keywords field in 2026: a 100-character playbook
Apple's rules for the hidden keywords field, what wastes characters, how to use extra localizations, and a checker you can run on your own field before you submit.
2026-10-09 · 8 min read
Read the post
iOS app localization in 2026: which locales to ship first, and how App Store search treats them
The App Store has 175 storefronts and 50 listing languages. Here's how Apple decides which localization people see, where the spending is, and the five locales an English-language indie app should add first.
2026-10-06 · 8 min read
Read the post
How to market an iOS app with no budget: the indie playbook for 2026
Apple gives every developer a set of free marketing tools most indie apps never switch on. Start there, then add the outside channels that compound.
2026-10-05 · 7 min read
Read the post
App Store ranking factors in 2026: what Apple confirms, what's contested, and what to work on first
Apple names two families of ranking signals. Here's each field and signal sorted into confirmed, contested and ignored — and the order an indie app should work through them.
2026-10-03 · 9 min read
Read the post
App Store review time in 2026: Waiting for Review, expedited review, and what to do when you're stuck
What Apple says, what live tracking data shows, how to request an expedited review, and the one move that sends you back to the start of the queue.
2026-10-02 · 8 min read
Read the post
How much does App Store Optimization (ASO) cost in 2026?
Real, published prices for ASO tools, freelancers and agencies — checked on October 1, 2026 — and what an indie iOS app should actually spend at each stage.
2026-10-01 · 7 min read
Read the post
ASO audit for iOS apps: what we actually check
Not a 40-row keyword dump. Three questions, a frozen listing, live search on iPhone and iPad, five real competitors, the site button, and six prompts on ChatGPT.
2026-09-03 · 8 min read
Read the post
ASO tools vs an actual audit
AppTweak, Sensor Tower, and Mobile Action will sell you a grid. The grid is not a decision. Here is what a $99 audit writes that the spreadsheet never will.
2026-09-03 · 9 min read
Read the post