Apple is set to introduce AI-generated review summaries to the App Store with the release of iOS 18.4. As reported by Macworld, the latest developer beta for iOS and iPadOS features brief summaries of user reviews for select App Store listings.
Apple introduces AI review summaries for App Store in iOS 18.4
The summaries, created using large language models, aim to “compile highlights and key information from users’ reviews into short paragraphs,” according to Apple’s developer site. These summaries will begin with positive feedback and conclude with negative comments. Apple plans to refresh the summaries at least once a week as new reviews come in. Users can tap and hold on a review to report any issues with the feature. Initially, the summaries will be available in the US App Store for apps and games published in English, provided there are enough reviews to create a summary. Availability in other countries and languages is expected later this year.
This initiative follows Amazon’s introduction of AI-generated review highlights to its e-commerce platform in 2023, where similar short paragraphs summarize product features and customer sentiments based on written reviews.
While the intention of these review summaries is to provide users with an efficient overview of app feedback, there are concerns about potential manipulation, as some companies may attempt to flood review sections. From prior experiences, it has been noted that focusing on positive aspects first can seem disingenuous.
In addition to review summaries, iOS 18.4 beta 2 introduces a functionality that allows users to pause downloads and updates of apps. Previously, pausing downloads required stopping them entirely, which necessitated restarting the process from the beginning. The new pause button in iOS 18.4 allows users to temporarily halt a download and resume it later without losing progress.
Featured image credit: Apple
