Update (10 December 2016): Three months after I originally posted this article, and one month after “old” apps would be forced to update by Apple, there is only a single change—the removal of Elixr. However, it seems the creator, Mobelux, pulled this app from the Google Play store as well, indicating that the Apple clean-up had nothing to do with it.

Apple recently announced that they would be cleaning up the App Store. This is a long-awaited move that should help resolve one of my gripes about App Store. While this clean up is nice, it’s only the first step in fixing App Store search. I thought I would document a search I routinely run to discover new apps for Untappd (or, perhaps more honestly, to gauge the popularity of Tappd That). This cleanup process should remove a number of the top 25 results, but only a handful are actually relevant to the search term in the first place.

Search Term: Untappd

tl;dr: Some stats from the top 24(+ advertisement, excluding first party) results:

  • Updated this year: 8
  • Targets iOS 7 or higher: 15
    • Targets latest iOS: 1
  • Actually uses Untappd: 2

Ad: Pint Please Beer Scanner

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.0
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 1: Untappd

  • Auths to Untappd?: Yes
  • UI Style: Custom
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.3
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 2: Brew Gene

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 6
  • Target SDK: iOS 4.3
  • Last updated: 2013
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 3: Beer Buddy

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 6
  • Target SDK: iOS 4.3
  • Last updated: 2013
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 4: Find Craft Beer

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 6
  • Last updated: 2013
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 5: Tap Hunter

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7.1
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 6: Craft Beer Directory

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 6
  • Target SDK: iOS 6
  • Last updated: 2013
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 7: Craft Beer App

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 6
  • Target SDK: iOS 3.1.3
  • Last updated: 2011
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 8: Beer Citizen

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: Custom
  • Target SDK: iOS 5
  • Last updated: 2014
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 9: myBeerNation

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 10: Craft Beer Magazine

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.1
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 11: Brewery Passport

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.0
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 12: RateBeer (note: rebranded Beer Buddy)

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: Custom
  • Target SDK: iOS 6.0
  • Last updated: 2014
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 13: unWine

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: Custom
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.4
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 14: Elixr

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.0
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 15: BreweryMap

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.4
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 16: BreweryMap/PocketBeer Bundle

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7.1
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 17: Brew Vault

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 6
  • Target SDK: iOS 5.1
  • Last updated: 2013
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 18: Barreled

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7.0
  • Last updated: 2014
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 19: Tappd That

  • Auths to Untappd?: Yes
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 9.0
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: Yes

Rank 20: Swig

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7.0
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 21: Untappd for Business

  • Auths to Untappd?: Yes
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 9.0
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: Yes
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 22: Next Glass

  • Auths to Untappd?: Yes
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 7.0
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 23: beHoppy

  • Auths to Untappd?: No
  • UI Style: Custom
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.4
  • Last updated: 2016
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No

Rank 24: Mr. Beer

  • Auths to Untappd?: Yes
  • UI Style: iOS 7
  • Target SDK: iOS 8.0
  • Last updated: 2015
  • iPad interface?: No
  • Apple Watch app?: No