iOS 8 Suggested Apps - How does it work?

Question

Over the past little while I’ve been working with a client who would like to leverage Apple’s new Suggested App feature on iOS 8. The client's goal was to display a suggest app lock screen notification any time a person passes by a specific geo-location. After spending some time trying to find a concrete answer to what level of control (if any) the client would have over Apple’s Suggest App feature, it was decided to send our questions directly to Apple.

Below is copy of the questions I sent to Apple.

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Hello,

For our next app release, my team and I would like to leverage Apple's Suggest App feature provided in iOS 8.

We've taken a look through the iTunes Connect portal and we haven't been able to find a configuration panel anywhere which allows us to control when/where our app should appear as a suggested app.

Questions:

1. Is it possible for us to specify the conditions that out app will appear as a suggested app for users who haven't downloaded it yet?

2. Can we specify a geo-fence that will display our app as a suggested app on a user's lock screen?

3. If we have no control over Apple's Suggested App configuration, under what conditions will our iOS appear on a user's lock screen as a suggested app?

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

1. Turn on your phone
2. Enable suggested apps
3. Enable 3G
4. Lock your screen
5. Walk past a region.

Expected Result: A suggested app appears on the iPhone lock screen.

Answer 1

Here is the response I received directly from Apple Developer Support Team:

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Hello,

Location relevant Apps are recommended on the lock screen and in the App Store based on a number of factors, including their popularity at the location, and there is no mechanism or process by which an App developer can add their App to the list of recommended Apps.

However, if your iOS App is directly related to the location or venue (such as a mall guide iOS App which is published by the mall owner or operator), and you believe your iOS App’s relevance warrants it being included the list of recommended Apps, then you are encouraged to submit an enhancement request via http://bugreport.apple.com/, and request that Apple consider whether your iOS App should be included in the list of recommended Apps for that location.

You should provide as much detail in the ’enhancement request' about the App and venue/location as possible, such as the App ID, App Name, URL to the App on the App Store, venue name, venue location (address & lat/lon), the relevance (if any) of your iOS App to the venue/location, and relationship (if any) between you as the developer and the owner/operator of the venue/location.

Submission of an enhancement request does not guarantee that a particular iOS App will be added to the list of recommended Apps for a venue or location, and the sole feedback from Apple on the request will come through the http://bugreport.apple.com/ bug report system.

Regards,

Apple Developer Technical Support