Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Apple’s iOS App Store heavily favored the company’s iPhone and iPad apps and ranked them higher than more popular third-party options until a recent algorithm change, according to a new report from The New York Times. The Times studied App Store search results (dating back several years) for common queries like “music” and “podcasts” and found that Apple regularly steered customers to a handful of its own apps — even unrelated results like Compass and Find My Friends — before getting to options from third-party developers.
The Wall Street Journal conducted a similar review of historical App Store results in July and also concluded that Apple’s apps had a clear and significant edge.
Apple told the Times that the App Store was actually…