Apple Adds 'Editors' Choice' Label to iTunes and App Stores

[Phillip Swanson]

Apple is sprucing up the Mac App Store and iTunes with a new “branding” category: Editors’s Choice.

The “Editors’ Choice” label is pretty self-explanatory and the first apps to be granted the labeling are Facebook Camera, Extreme Skater, Air Mail, and Sketchbook Ink for iOS. For the Mac App Store Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Cobook (an address book) received the inaugural picks. One can assume Apple will extend the new label to other applications, but so far no schedule is known.

Actually, nothing is known concerning how an app gets the Editors’ Choice distinction. Apple has had the “New and Noteworthy” category for some time, but the Editors’ Choice label brings with it some prime iTunes real estate with the apps sharing time on the App Store landing page. I’m curious who these editors are, and what their criteria is for choosing an App.

Also, Apple is offering Cut the Rope: Experiments as free download for a limited time as a part of their ongoing “app of the week” series. Cut the Rope’s inclusion marks the first time a paid app ($.99) has been discounted in full as part of the promotion. Discounted pricing in the App Store is usually controlled by the developer, whereas competing app stores like Amazon’s quite frequently offer heavily discounted or free app offers.

Hopefully Apple’s Editors’ Choice selections continue to include big and small developers alike. I’d hate to see the label devolve into an “honor” purchased by those with the deepest pockets.

Source: The Verge

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If you ever stumble upon criteria for the "Editors Choice" badge, do let us know.