Should iOS 10.3’s App Store Rating Prompts Be Notifications Instead of Alerts?

Supertop’s Oisin Prendiville has an interesting proposal:

I believe that the notification pattern could improve the effectiveness of the rating feature.

  • An app requests that the user be prompted.
  • iOS decides based on policy whether it is appropriate to show a request.
  • If iOS decides to show the request, the interface slides down from the top of the screen like a notification.

I’m on the fence about his idea. There’s no question that the current design in the 10.3 betas (the modal alert) is more intrusive. But developers get to decide when it appears. That means, if they’re hoping for positive reviews, it’s in their own interest to show it after the user has done something, not while they are doing it. I’d bet that Apple considered something pretty much exactly like what Prendiville is suggesting.

★ Friday, 3 February 2017