Apple to Increase App Store Ads Starting March 3rd
Apple is rolling out more search ads in the App Store, beginning on Tuesday, March 3rd, initially in the United Kingdom and Japan, with other markets (including the US and Europe) following by the end of March.
This change, announced in an email to developers and reported by MacRumors, aims to provide “additional opportunities in search results” for advertisers. the ads will be visible on iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 26.2 or iPadOS 26.2 or later.
Apple highlights that 65% of app downloads on the app Store originate directly from search results, explaining the motivation behind increasing ad placements. As Apple stated in January 2025:
“To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries.”
The article also suggests this may not be the only change coming to the App Store. An image shows a comparison of the old and new App Store search ad designs.
