How to see the new apps released today

Thousands of apps and games are released every day. It sounds like a simple thing to list them. Neither store does.

What the stores show

• The App Store has “new” lists in some categories and countries, but they are rolling selections, not a list of what came out today. An app can stay in them for weeks, and most new apps never appear.
• Google Play has no complete list of new apps either. Its charts favour apps that are already growing.
• Editors’ picks on both stores show a handful of chosen apps, usually from known studios.

So the stores answer “what is popular?” well and “what is new?” hardly at all. A new app from a small maker is invisible until it climbs.

What you can read on an app’s page

• The release date. The App Store shows it in the version history; Google Play shows “Released on” under “About this app”.
• “Updated on” is not the release date. On Google Play it changes with every update, so an old app can look new.
• Version 1.0 with few ratings is usually a real newcomer.

Why it is worth watching

• You see competitors on day one, not when they reach a chart.
• You see where makers are heading. Twenty new apps for the same idea in a week is a trend you can join or avoid.
• You find ideas. Scanning a day of launches in your category shows what people are trying right now.

A list of every launch, by day

IndieTower’s Launches page is that missing list. It shows the apps and games released on one day, from both stores, by their real release date, with filters for store, apps or games, category and country. Today and yesterday are open to everyone; an Indie plan opens 90 days.

If you want it shorter, New by category shows the last 30 days for one store category, and the weekly roundup sums up each week: how many launched, which are already growing, and the busiest categories. How to read Launches.