Download App Store for Mac Catalina 2022
- A Mac computer with an Intel processor.
- Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later.
- Internet access.
- An iTunes or iCloud account.
Once your update has been installed, you can view apps in the Mac App Store, where you can browser categories such as; top sales, top free, top grossing and editors choice, as well as staff favourites.
Apple’s dedicated Mac App Store
It was only a matter of time before Apple launched their own dedicated Mac App Store which duly arrived at the beginning of 2011.
Of course, there has been the Apple download site for Mac apps for quite some time now but the Mac App Store is a much more dedicated and OS X integrated affair that makes browsing, downloading, installing and updating Mac Apps much slicker. Perhaps most importantly however, it removes the file hosting burden from developers, gives them much wider coverage for their apps and of course, offers both them and Apple the chance to make more money from their creations.
To use the Mac App Store, you’ll need to upgrade to OS X 10.6.6 via Software Update which is available here. Download sizes vary, but it the system update can be as large as 1GB. Once installed, you’ll have access to the App Store via a blue App Store icon in your Dock or via your Menu Bar. The main window features a cycle of different promotions which can change several times while you’re using the store. The amount of information is a bit overwhelming at first with New and Noteworthy, Staff Favorites, What’s Hot and the Top 10 Sales, Free and Grossing all vying for space in the main window.
Apple download site for Mac apps
You only get one screenshot in some cases which is a bit limited but you can read lots of customer reviews, program details plus links to more apps by the same developer. To download the application, you’ll need to click on the “Free” or “Payment” button in the top left hand corner. You’ll then be prompted to sign into your Apple account (or sign-up for one).
If you’ve never used your ID to purchase anything from Apple – such as an iTunes track for example – you’ll be prompted to review your account details and enter credit card information in case you want to purchase apps. Users who only intend on downloading free apps may object to this and perhaps there should be an option to omit this unless you want to purchase apps.
Installation of applications is incredibly fast – a status bar in the Dock icon reveals how much time is left for downloading and installation and apps are ready to use in your Dock within seconds depending on the size of the application. This is definitely one of the Mac App Store’s strongest features. Even better, updates take place automatically although there’s no guarantee they will be free if the developer chooses to charge a fee.
Overall, the Mac App Store finally brings Macs into line with iPhones in terms of convenience of trying new applications.
PROS
- Integrated with OS X
- Brings iPhones style application downloads to Mac
- Very fast installations
CONS
- Sometimes screenshots are limited
- No staff reviews
Search
Search on the App Store and Mac App Store allows customers to find apps, games, stories, categories, in-app purchases, and developers. Searches use app and in-app purchase metadata from your product page to deliver the most relevant results. We’re constantly evolving how search works to serve the best results to customers’ queries.
When customers search for an app, the App Store returns a list of apps that are ranked based on a number of factors, including text relevance (matches for the app’s title, keywords, and primary category) and customer behavior (downloads and the number and quality of ratings and reviews). In addition to getting results for their specific search query, customers are shown suggested search terms to help them find what they’re looking for. They can also view Trending Searches to see what other customers in their region are interested in.
Categories
Categories on the App Store and Mac App Store sort apps based on their main function or subject matter. Customers can browse categories, such as Entertainment, Shopping, or Social Networking, to find related apps. You can assign a primary and a secondary category to your app. The primary category is particularly important for discoverability, as it helps users find your app when browsing or filtering search results, and it determines in which tab your app appears on the App Store.
Today Tab
The Today tab on the App Store is a daily destination with original stories from our editors around the world, featuring exclusive premieres, new releases, a fresh look at our all-time favorites, an App of the Day, a Game of the Day, and more. It offers tips and how-to guides to help customers use apps in innovative ways, and showcases interviews with inspiring developers. Stories share Apple’s unique perspective on apps and games and how they impact our lives, using artwork, videos, and developer quotes to bring your apps to life.
Games and Apps Tabs
The App Store is also the world’s best game store, with dedicated experiences for games and apps that inform and engage customers through recommendations on new releases and updates, videos, top charts, and handpicked collections and categories. Both tabs also feature app preview videos that autoplay with muted audio as customers scroll through the tabs, and selected in-app purchases — which customers can start buying directly on the App Store.
Promoted In-App Purchases
Customers can browse in-app purchases directly on the App Store and start a purchase even before downloading your app, helping your app’s content gain exposure. You can promote up to 20 in-app purchases, including subscriptions, on your app’s product page. They can also appear in search results and may be featured by our editorial team.
Discover
Discover is where customers find the best new releases and updates on the Mac App Store. Each week, our editors shine a light on incredible apps and games with in-depth stories, behind-the-scenes interviews, and curated collections to help customers do more of what they love with their Mac.
Create
Create is where customers find powerful apps that make creating on a Mac intuitive, efficient, and fun, with helpful tips and tours that even experts will find useful.
Work
Work is where we showcase new favorites that support focus and organization. With curated collections and how-tos from our editors, finding the right business, productivity, and utility apps is easy.
Play
Play is where we highlight great games and entertainment apps, with recommendations of new releases, all-time favorites, and handpicked collections.
Develop
Develop is where our editors curate the best developer tools and utilities to help bring your creativity and imagination to customers around the world.
Getting Featured
App Store editors write stories that showcase apps in interesting and informative ways. Our editors base their decisions on a variety of factors, all of which amount to a great product that customers will love. There is no paid placement or checklist of requirements for apps we write about or feature.
Stories. App Store editors talk about apps that have a unique story for example, a behind-the-scenes look at how a developer launched an app that disrupted an industry or how an app helped a customer solve a unique problem.
Apps and Games. When considering apps to feature, our editors look for high-quality apps across all categories, with a particular focus on new apps and apps with significant updates. Factors that our editors consider include:
- UI design: the usability, appeal, and overall quality of the app
- User experience: the efficiency and functionality of the app
- Innovation: apps that solve a unique problem for customers
- Localizations: high-quality and relevant
- Accessibility: well-integrated features
- App Store product page: compelling screenshots, app previews, and descriptions
- Uniqueness
For games, editors also consider:
- Gameplay and level of engagement
- Graphics and performance
- Audio
- Narrative and story depth
- Ability to replay
- Gameplay controls
Why the Mac App Store Doesn’t Have the Applications You Want
Mac OS X has a desktop app store, unlike Windows. Get a new Mac and you may be excited to open the Mac App Store and install all your favorite software — but you won’t find all your favorite apps in the store.
The Mac App Store isn’t like the App Store on Apple’s iPhones and iPads. You’ve always been able to install applications from outside the store, and many developers don’t include their apps in the store.
The Mac Software Ecosystem Goes Beyond the Store
Apple’s iOS has had an App Store built into it from the moment it first allowed third-party applications back in iOS 2, released in 2008. But the Mac App Store debuted in 2011 as part of Mac OS X 10.6.6. The desktop version of Mac OS X debuted in 2001, so OS X had ten years to develop without a centralized app store.
All those OS X apps are still around. Mac users have always gotten apps directly from the developers’ websites — or on software installation discs long ago — and that continues. The Mac App Store isn’t the only way to get apps. By default, Macs are configured to allow apps either from the app store or apps that have been signed by an approved developer.
In fact, Apple’s choices around the Mac App Store have discouraged many developers from putting their apps on the Mac App Store. It’s not just that the Mac App Store is incomplete — it has restrictions that don’t match what a desktop operating system like Mac OS X is all about. Many popular Mac apps just wouldn’t be allowed into the app store.
The Sandbox, or Why Many Apps Can’t Be On the Store
The main reason many apps aren’t available on the Mac App Store is the “sandboxing” requirement. As on Apple’s iOS, apps listed in the Mac App Store must run in a restricted sandbox environment. They have only a tiny little container they have access to, and they can’t communicate with other applications. They can’t access all the files on your computer — if they want to access a file, they have to pop open an Open dialog and you have to choose that specific file.
There are many, many other limitations like these. But it’s not just about the individual limitations. The “App Sandbox” is something that was added to Mac OS X years after it was created, and it’s not suitable for every type of program you might run on your computer. It’s especially not suitable for the kinds of powerful applications you need to run on a desktop operating system like a Mac OS X. Sure, apps like Twitter and Evernote can fit on the Mac App Store just fine. But more powerful applications that need access to more of your Mac have to be distributed from outside the app store.
Developers also can’t offer demos or paid upgrades through the Mac App Store, nor can they communicate directly with their customers.
How to Install Apps From Outside the Store
It’s possible to install apps from outside the Mac App Store, and you’ll need to. Whether you want Chrome, Firefox, Adobe’s Flash plug-in, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Skype, Dropbox, VLC, Steam, a virtual machine program for running Windows software, or many, many other applications — you’ll need to get them from outside the Mac App Store.
You do this in much the same way you can on Windows — performing web searches for programs, reading lists of the best programs, and looking at reviews. The Mac App Store is a convenient place to get simple, basic applications — but more powerful apps will have to be installed from outside it. Just download the applications and install them from the .DMG files they’re usually distributed in. It’s old-school, but it works.
Conclusion
It’s sad that the App Store for Mac hasn’t become a single trustworthy place for the software you’d want to run, and that more and more developers are abandoning it. It’s still a good place for very simple applications, and is a safe way to buy a simple utility you might want. But you can’t rely on it like you can on your iPhone or iPad.
Money is another factor. If an app is in the app store, its developers have to pay a cut to Apple when you purchase it. If an app is sold outside the app store, you can buy it directly from those developers, and they don’t have to give those developers a cut. For example, while Blizzard offers Mac versions of its popular games, they’re downloaded through the Battle.net app and not the Mac App Store. Blizzard doesn’t have to pay Apple a cut.