Imagine your app showcased right on the App Store or Google Play homepage, visible to hundreds of millions of users before they even type a search query. That's the reality when you get featured. With the App Store alone reaching roughly 850 million weekly visitors worldwide ^[1], a single feature placement can transform an unknown app into a category leader virtually overnight.

But here's the catch: getting featured isn't random luck. Both Apple and Google have specific criteria they evaluate, and developers who understand these criteria can dramatically increase their chances. Whether you're an indie developer with a single app or a studio managing a portfolio, this guide will walk you through exactly what it takes to land a coveted feature spot in 2026. If you're still building your ASO foundation, start there first, then come back here to level up.

We'll cover what "featured" actually means on each platform, the exact criteria editorial teams and algorithms evaluate, a step-by-step action plan, and the mistakes that silently disqualify apps from consideration.

What Does "Featured" Mean on App Store vs Google Play?

Before diving into the how, it's worth understanding that "featured" means very different things on Apple's App Store and Google Play. The two platforms take fundamentally different approaches to featuring apps, and your strategy needs to reflect that.

Apple App Store: Editorial Curation

Apple's App Store features are handpicked by a dedicated editorial team. These are real people who review apps, test experiences, and select apps that align with Apple's design philosophy and current priorities. When you see an app in the "Today" tab, an "App of the Day" spotlight, or a curated collection, that placement was chosen deliberately by Apple editors ^[2].

The main feature placements on the App Store include:

Today Tab — Editorial stories, app spotlights, and themed collections
App of the Day / Game of the Day — Premium daily showcases
Top Charts & Category Features — Genre-specific recommendations
Seasonal & Event Collections — Tied to holidays, cultural moments, or Apple events
In-App Events Section — Time-limited events surfaced on the product page and search results

Apple recognized 45 standout apps and games in its 2025 App Store Awards ^[3], demonstrating the scope and prestige of being selected. The editorial nature of Apple's process means you can't game it with downloads or ad spend alone. Quality and craftsmanship matter most.

Google Play: Algorithmic + Editorial Hybrid

Google Play takes a hybrid approach. While Google does have editorial staff who curate collections and spotlights, much of the featuring is driven by algorithms that evaluate technical quality signals, user engagement metrics, and policy compliance ^[4].

Key Google Play feature placements include:

Editors' Choice — Handpicked apps recognized for outstanding quality
Featured Apps & Games — Homepage and category-level recommendations
Best of Year Awards — Annual recognition of standout apps
Promotional Content Cards — Time-limited offers, events, and updates surfaced across the store

The algorithmic component means that Google is continuously evaluating your app's crash rate, ANR rate, battery usage, and other vitals. Good technical performance isn't just a bonus for Google Play featuring; it's a prerequisite.

Why Getting Featured Matters in 2026

You might wonder whether featuring still matters in an era of paid user acquisition and social media marketing. The short answer: absolutely. Here's why.

Massive organic visibility. A feature placement puts your app in front of millions of users who are actively browsing the store and ready to download. No ad budget required. This is premium real estate that money literally cannot buy.

Social proof and credibility. When Apple or Google highlights your app, it's an implicit endorsement. Users trust platform recommendations, and the credibility boost extends far beyond the featuring period itself. Press outlets, investors, and partners take notice.

Compounding downloads. The initial surge in downloads from featuring improves your organic ranking signals, which keeps driving downloads long after the feature ends. It's a flywheel effect that can double or even triple your regular download volume for weeks afterward.

Competitive differentiation. In saturated categories, a feature badge separates you from thousands of similar apps. It's a moat that competitors can't easily replicate.

Apple App Store Featuring Criteria

Apple's editorial team evaluates apps across several dimensions. Understanding each one is critical if you want your app to make the shortlist.

Design Excellence

Apple has always placed design at the center of its ecosystem, and the App Store editorial team reflects this priority. They look for apps that embrace Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, use native UI components thoughtfully, and deliver polished visual experiences ^[2].

This means clean typography, intuitive navigation, purposeful animations, and a consistent design language throughout the app. If your app looks like it was built using generic templates without customization, the editorial team will likely pass.

Clear Storytelling and Purpose

Apple's editorial team loves apps that tell a compelling story. What problem does your app solve? Who is it for? Why does it exist? Your App Store product page should communicate this clearly through your screenshots, description, and preview video. The editors want to be able to write about your app in the "Today" tab, so give them a narrative worth sharing.

Make your app screenshots communicate your value proposition at a glance. Every screenshot should advance the story of what your app does and why someone would want it.

Innovation and Use of Apple Technologies

Apps that adopt the latest Apple frameworks and technologies get priority attention. In 2026, this includes:

Apple Intelligence and machine learning integration
visionOS and spatial computing features
WidgetKit and Live Activities
App Intents and Siri Shortcuts
SharePlay and collaboration features
StoreKit 2 for subscriptions and in-app purchases

You don't need to adopt every new API, but demonstrating that you're keeping pace with Apple's platform evolution signals that you're a serious, invested developer.

High Ratings and Positive Reviews

Roughly 90% of apps featured on the App Store maintain ratings of 4.0 stars or higher ^[5]. Apps rated below 3.5 stars are rarely considered for featuring at all. This makes sense: Apple isn't going to spotlight an app that users are actively complaining about.

Actively monitor your reviews, respond to feedback, and fix reported issues quickly. A strong rating isn't just a vanity metric; it's a prerequisite for editorial consideration.

Cultural and Seasonal Relevance

Apple often curates collections around cultural moments, holidays, awareness months, and seasonal themes. If your app aligns with an upcoming event (back-to-school season, Mental Health Awareness Month, New Year fitness goals), it could naturally fit into a planned editorial collection ^[2].

Plan your major updates and feature releases around these moments. An app that launches a relevant new feature at exactly the right time gives the editorial team an easy reason to include it.

Google Play Featuring Criteria

Google Play's featuring criteria overlap with Apple's in some areas but diverge significantly in others, particularly around technical performance.

Technical Quality and Android Vitals

Google evaluates your app's technical health through Android Vitals, a dashboard that tracks crash rates, ANR (Application Not Responding) rates, excessive wake-ups, and stuck partial wake locks ^[4]. Apps with crash rates above the "bad behavior threshold" are far less likely to be featured.

Key benchmarks to target:

Crash rate below 1.09%
ANR rate below 0.47%
Excessive wake-ups below 10 per hour
Background WiFi and mobile data usage within acceptable limits

If your vitals are in the red zone, fix them before worrying about featuring. Google won't promote an app that delivers a poor user experience. Our Google Play Console setup guide walks you through connecting your account and monitoring these metrics.

User Value and Engagement

Google looks at retention rates, session length, and overall engagement patterns. Apps that people install, use once, and then abandon don't get featured. They want to see evidence that users find genuine, ongoing value in your app.

Focus on building habit-forming features, smooth onboarding flows, and regular content updates that give users reasons to return. Approximately 85% of featured Google Play apps maintain ratings of 4.0 stars or above ^[5], confirming that user satisfaction is non-negotiable here too.

Trustworthy Data Practices

Google has become increasingly strict about data transparency. Your app must have an accurate Data Safety section, request only necessary permissions, and handle user data responsibly. Apps that request excessive permissions or have unclear privacy practices are disqualified from featuring consideration.

Complete your Data Safety form thoroughly and honestly. This isn't just a compliance checkbox; it's a trust signal that Google uses to decide whether your app deserves promotion.

Material Design and Accessibility

Google favors apps that follow Material Design 3 guidelines and provide strong accessibility features. Support for dynamic color theming, adaptive layouts across form factors (phones, tablets, foldables, Chromebooks), and robust TalkBack support all strengthen your featuring candidacy.

How to Get Featured: Step-by-Step

Now for the actionable part. Here are the concrete steps you can take to maximize your chances of getting featured on both platforms.

Step 1: Build a High-Quality, Polished App

This sounds obvious, but it's where most apps fall short. Before even thinking about featuring, your app needs to be genuinely excellent. That means:

Bug-free core experience with smooth performance
Intuitive UI that follows platform design guidelines
Clear value proposition that users understand within seconds
Consistent design language across all screens
Proper error handling and edge case management

Spend extra time on the details. The editorial teams notice polish. An app with beautiful micro-interactions and thoughtful transitions communicates a level of care that generic apps don't.

Step 2: Optimize Your Store Listing

Your App Store and Google Play listing is your pitch to both users and editorial teams. Every element matters. Your title, subtitle, description, keywords, and screenshots should all work together to communicate your app's value clearly and compellingly.

Use AI-powered metadata generation to craft optimized titles, subtitles, and keyword sets that maximize discoverability while maintaining readability. An optimized listing shows editorial teams that you take ASO seriously, which correlates with overall app quality.

Step 3: Submit Through Apple's Featuring Nomination

Apple introduced Featuring Nominations as a direct channel for developers to pitch their apps to the editorial team. This is separate from the older App Promotion Form and provides a more structured way to present your app's story ^[2]. Make sure your App Store Connect configuration is complete before submitting your first nomination.

When submitting a nomination:

Explain your story — What makes your app unique? What problem does it solve?
Highlight recent updates — Show that your app is actively maintained and improving
Mention Apple technology adoption — List specific frameworks and APIs you've integrated
Include metrics if impressive — User growth, retention rates, or community impact
Time it strategically — Submit 6-8 weeks before a major update or seasonal moment

Don't submit every minor update. Save your nominations for genuinely significant milestones that give the editorial team a compelling reason to feature you.

Step 4: Leverage In-App Events and Promotional Content

Both Apple and Google have expanded their support for time-limited, event-based content that surfaces directly in store search results and browse pages.

On the App Store, In-App Events let you promote challenges, competitions, live streams, new content drops, and special offers. These events appear on your product page, in search results, and can be featured in the Today tab ^[6]. They give Apple's editorial team additional reasons to surface your app.

On Google Play, Promotional Content cards serve a similar purpose. You can create time-sensitive offers, highlight major updates, and announce events. These cards appear across the Play Store and can significantly boost visibility.

Run in-app events regularly. They keep your app fresh in the eyes of both the algorithms and the editorial teams, and they give existing users reasons to re-engage.

Step 5: Maintain Excellent Ratings and Reviews

We've already mentioned that 90% of featured App Store apps hold 4.0+ ratings ^[5]. But maintaining high ratings isn't passive. It requires an active strategy:

Time your review prompts wisely — Ask for ratings after positive moments (completing a task, achieving a goal), not during onboarding or error states
Respond to negative reviews — Show users (and editorial teams) that you care about feedback
Fix reported bugs quickly — Nothing tanks ratings faster than known issues that linger for weeks
Use Apple's SKStoreReviewController — It limits prompt frequency and feels native, improving response rates

If your rating is below 4.0, prioritize getting it above that threshold before pursuing featuring. Address the top complaints in your reviews, ship fixes, and gradually rebuild user trust.

Step 6: Adopt Latest Platform Features

Both Apple and Google prioritize apps that showcase their newest capabilities. For Apple, this means integrating Apple Intelligence, Live Activities, WidgetKit, and the latest SwiftUI features. For Google, it means supporting Material You, predictive back gestures, per-app language preferences, and Credential Manager.

Review the most recent WWDC and Google I/O sessions to identify new APIs relevant to your app. Even adopting one or two new features can set you apart from competitors who haven't updated their tech stack in years.

Step 7: Localize Your App and Store Listing

Both Apple and Google operate in hundreds of markets worldwide, and they curate features regionally. An English-only app limits you to a fraction of the featuring opportunities available. Localizing your app and its store listing into multiple languages opens the door to regional featuring in markets where competition may be less intense.

The AppDrift metadata translation tool handles localization across 40+ languages while preserving your app's keyword strategy and cultural context. Localized listings aren't just about translation; they're about adapting your messaging to resonate with local audiences, which editorial teams notice and appreciate.

If you're new to localization, our guide on launching your app globally covers the fundamentals you need to get started.

Step 8: Build Relationships and Visibility

While you can't wine and dine Apple's editorial team, you can build visibility through legitimate channels:

Attend WWDC and Google I/O — Even virtually, these events connect you with platform teams
Participate in developer programs — Apple Entrepreneur Camp, Google for Startups, and similar initiatives
Engage on social media — Share your development journey, post about your app's impact, and tag official platform accounts
Get press coverage — Articles in tech publications create awareness and social proof that editorial teams see
Win design and innovation awards — Apple Design Awards, Google Play Best Of nominees get extra editorial attention

The goal isn't to lobby for featuring directly. It's to ensure that when the editorial team is looking for apps in your category, yours is already on their radar.

Step 9: Ship Updates Consistently

Both platforms favor actively maintained apps. An app that hasn't been updated in six months signals abandonment, regardless of how polished the original version was. Regular updates demonstrate commitment and give editorial teams fresh angles for featuring.

Establish a consistent release cadence: major feature updates quarterly, bug fixes and improvements monthly. Each update is an opportunity to submit a new featuring nomination to Apple or trigger re-evaluation by Google's algorithms.

Use automated store publishing tools to streamline your deployment workflow, so that frequent updates don't become a logistical burden. The easier it is to ship, the more consistently you'll do it.

Step 10: Create a Press Kit and Developer Story

Make it easy for Apple and Google to feature you. Create a dedicated press page with:

High-resolution app screenshots and icons
Your app's origin story and mission
Key metrics (downloads, retention, user testimonials)
Brand assets and logos in multiple formats
Contact information for press and partnerships

Apple's editorial team regularly writes feature stories about developers and their journeys. If your story is accessible, compelling, and well-documented, you make their job easier, which works in your favor.

Using In-App Events and Promotional Content for Visibility

In-app events deserve a deeper look because they've become one of the most powerful tools for earning visibility on both stores.

Apple In-App Events

Apple introduced In-App Events to give developers a way to promote time-limited experiences directly on the App Store. These events appear in three key locations: your product page, search results, and editorially curated collections ^[6].

Event types you can create include:

Challenges — Encourage users to achieve specific goals
Competitions — Multiplayer or community-based contests
Live Events — Real-time streams or performances
Major Updates — Significant new features or content
New Season or Content — Fresh content drops in apps and games
Special Events — Seasonal or cultural celebrations

Each event gets its own card with a custom image, short description, and deep link into the relevant section of your app. Think of these as mini marketing campaigns that live directly inside the App Store.

Google Play Promotional Content

Google Play's promotional content system works similarly but with its own format. You can create promotional cards highlighting limited-time offers, new features, crossover events, and more. These cards appear across the Play Store, including in search results and category pages.

Both platforms reward apps that use these systems actively. Regular event creation signals that your app is alive, evolving, and giving users reasons to engage.

Common Mistakes That Prevent Featuring

Even well-made apps get passed over for featuring when developers make these avoidable errors.

Neglecting Performance and Stability

A beautiful app that crashes frequently won't get featured. Period. Both platforms have minimum quality thresholds. On Google Play, Android Vitals must be within acceptable limits. On the App Store, apps that generate excessive crash reports get flagged internally.

Invest in comprehensive QA testing across multiple devices and OS versions. Use crash reporting tools like Firebase Crashlytics to identify and fix issues proactively. Your broader marketing strategy won't matter if the app itself isn't stable.

Ignoring Accessibility

Both Apple and Google have made accessibility a key priority. Apps that don't support VoiceOver (iOS) or TalkBack (Android), lack proper contrast ratios, or ignore Dynamic Type preferences are increasingly disadvantaged in featuring decisions.

Accessibility isn't just about featuring. It's the right thing to do, and it expands your addressable market. But from a purely strategic standpoint, accessible apps have a genuine edge.

Poor Metadata and Screenshots

Your store listing is often the first thing an editorial team member sees. If your screenshots look generic, your description is filled with keyword stuffing, or your title is confusing, you've already lost their attention.

Invest time in crafting a listing that tells a clear story. Use each screenshot to highlight a different feature or benefit. Write descriptions that speak to users, not algorithms. If you need help, tools for publishing to both stores can help you get your listing right across platforms.

Submitting Too Early or Too Often

Sending Apple a featuring nomination for every minor bug fix dilutes your credibility. Similarly, launching an app that's still rough around the edges and hoping for a feature is counterproductive. You get one chance to make a first impression with the editorial team.

Wait until your app is genuinely ready, then submit strategically. Time your nominations around significant updates, seasonal relevance, or major milestones.

Not Localizing

An English-only app competes for featuring in a single market. A localized app can be featured in dozens of regions independently. Many developers overlook this, leaving massive opportunities on the table.

Can Paid Ads Help You Get Featured on App Store or Google Play?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions, and the answer has nuance. Paid advertising (Apple Search Ads, Google App Campaigns) does not directly influence editorial featuring decisions. Apple's editorial team operates independently from its advertising division, and Google's featuring algorithms don't consider ad spend as a signal.

However, paid ads can indirectly help. Increased downloads from ads improve your ranking signals, which boosts organic visibility. A higher install base means more reviews and ratings, which strengthens your featuring candidacy. And ads drive usage, which improves engagement metrics that Google's algorithms evaluate.

Think of ads as a complement to your featuring strategy, not a replacement. The foundation must be a great app with a polished listing. Ads amplify what's already working.

Pro Tips for 2026

Here are actionable tips that reflect the current state of app store featuring as of early 2026.

1. Leverage Apple Intelligence integrations. Apple is actively promoting apps that integrate with its on-device AI framework. If your app can meaningfully use Apple Intelligence for summarization, image generation, or smart suggestions, it becomes a natural fit for editorial spotlights.

2. Build for foldables and large screens on Android. Google is pushing the large-screen ecosystem hard. Apps that provide excellent tablet and foldable experiences have a meaningful advantage in featuring decisions.

3. Create seasonal in-app events early. Start planning your in-app events 2-3 months in advance. Submit them early so Apple and Google have time to discover and potentially include them in curated collections.

4. Focus on retention, not just downloads. Both platforms now weight retention and engagement metrics heavily. An app with moderate downloads but excellent 30-day retention is more likely to be featured than a viral app with 90% day-1 churn.

5. Monitor your competitors' featuring history. Study which apps in your category get featured and analyze what they're doing differently. Look at their update cadence, event strategy, and design choices for inspiration.

6. Use your ASO platform to track featuring opportunities. Monitor trending keywords, seasonal patterns, and category-level changes that might signal upcoming editorial collections where your app could fit.

7. Don't ignore smaller markets. While everyone competes for US App Store featuring, markets like Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Brazil have their own regional editorial teams. Growing your international presence increases your total featuring surface area.

Key Takeaways

Getting featured on the App Store or Google Play requires intentional preparation across design quality, technical performance, and strategic positioning — not luck or ad spend.

• Apple is editorial, Google is hybrid — Apple's editorial team handpicks featured apps based on design excellence and storytelling. Google uses algorithms evaluating crash rates, engagement, and policy compliance alongside editorial curation.

• 90% of featured apps hold 4.0+ star ratings — If your rating is below this threshold, fix it before pursuing featuring. Respond to negative reviews, ship fixes fast, and time review prompts after positive user moments.

• Adopt latest platform technologies — Apps integrating Apple Intelligence, visionOS, WidgetKit (iOS) or Material You, foldable support (Android) receive priority editorial attention. Even one or two new API integrations set you apart.

• In-app events are powerful featuring signals — Regular events keep your app visible to both algorithms and editorial teams. Plan seasonal events 2-3 months ahead for maximum editorial consideration.

• Localization multiplies featuring opportunities — English-only apps compete in one market. Localized apps can earn regional features across dozens of countries where competition is lighter.

• Consistency matters more than one big push — Ship updates quarterly, run events regularly, and submit featuring nominations strategically around major milestones. Most featured apps earned their first spotlight after months of steady improvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get featured after submitting a nomination?

Apple doesn't guarantee a response or timeline. Some apps get featured within weeks of submission; others wait months. The editorial team plans features well in advance, so submit your nomination 6-8 weeks before a major update or seasonal moment. Google Play's algorithmic featuring can happen at any time if your app meets quality thresholds, while editorial picks follow a similar planning cycle.

Can indie developers get featured, or is it only for big studios?

Indie developers absolutely get featured. Both Apple and Google actively seek out smaller studios with innovative, well-crafted apps. Apple's Entrepreneur Camp and Google's Indie Games initiatives specifically support independent developers. In fact, indie apps with unique concepts and polished execution often have an advantage over generic apps from larger studios because editorial teams value originality and craft.

Does getting featured on the App Store guarantee long-term growth?

Featuring creates a significant short-term spike in downloads, but long-term growth depends on retention and organic ranking improvements. The download surge boosts your ranking signals, which can sustain higher organic traffic for weeks or months afterward. However, if your app doesn't retain users, the boost fades. The best strategy is to ensure your onboarding, user experience, and engagement loops are strong before pursuing featuring.

What's the difference between Custom Product Pages and In-App Events for featuring?

Custom Product Pages let you create up to 35 alternative listing pages with different screenshots and messaging, useful for targeting specific audiences from paid campaigns. In-App Events promote time-limited experiences (challenges, competitions, content drops) directly on the store. Both increase your visibility surface area, but In-App Events have a direct path to editorial featuring because Apple surfaces them in the Today tab and search results.

How often should I submit a featuring nomination to Apple?

Only submit for genuinely significant milestones: a major feature launch, a redesign, a seasonal tie-in, or a notable growth achievement. Submitting for every minor bug fix dilutes your credibility with the editorial team. Two to four well-timed nominations per year is a reasonable cadence for most apps. Each submission should tell a compelling story about why your app deserves attention right now.

Conclusion

Getting featured on the App Store or Google Play isn't about knowing the right people or spending the most money. It's about building a genuinely excellent app, presenting it professionally, and strategically positioning yourself for editorial attention. The criteria are clear: design quality, technical performance, high ratings, platform technology adoption, and active engagement through in-app events and consistent updates.

Start with the basics. Build a polished, stable app. Optimize your store listing. Maintain strong ratings. Then layer on the advanced tactics: submit featuring nominations to Apple, run regular in-app events, localize for international markets, and adopt the latest platform features. Each step compounds your chances.

Remember that featuring is a marathon, not a sprint. Many of the most frequently featured apps earned their first spotlight only after months of consistent improvement and strategic positioning. Stay patient, stay focused on quality, and keep shipping. Your feature placement will come.

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