Hey Apple, I Liked Browsing for iPhone Apps on My Mac

I’ve got a quick message for Apple: I like(d) browsing for iOS apps on my Mac. That’s now a past-tense sentiment, because Apple removed the App Store from iTunes with the release of iTunes 12.7 on Tuesday.

The new iTunes focuses on music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks. Apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are now exclusively available in the new App Store for iOS. And the new App Store makes it easy to get, update, and redownload apps—all without a Mac or PC.

WTF Apple?

Now with Less!

I mean, yeah, that’s great and stuff. The App Store on iOS is now awesomer. It’s got a new look and feel and all these new features that improve discovery and makes everything MOAR BETTER.

Except I like shopping for my freaking apps using a proper keyboard on a big screen! I like being able to quickly grab app URLs and pasting them into a browser on my Mac!

Making the App Store usable without a Mac is fine and good, but that doesn’t mean you should take away the option to do this stuff on a Mac, too. I mean, seriously. If you want to take apps out of iTunes, give me an iOS App Store on my Mac, too.

iTunes Bloat

In some ways, Apple is in a no-win situation here. People have been complaining about iTunes bloat for years, and I get trying to streamline iTunes. I even get wanting to refocus that piece of software on media—the tunes part of iTunes.

But taking away the ability to browse iOS apps on Macs and PCs is a step backward for users. And for a company with all the money in the world, those backward steps are annoying as @&#%!

App Store App

Give us a standalone App Store app for Mac and PC, or make the Mac App Store app serve both operating systems, and a standalone App Store for PC. It’s that simple.

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