Tech giant Apple has opened up a few more first-party apps to the App Store for ratings and reviews, including the Phone app, Messages, Photos Safari and others.
The change was first spotted by developer Kosta Eleftheriou, who has been a prominent figure in pushing for App Store reforms, particularly on the matter of App Store scammers.
Citing Appfigures data, Eleftheriou noted several Apple apps have now become available to rate and review with iOS 15.1, TechCrunch reported.
This includes several default apps, like Clock, Phone, Messages, Camera, Photos, Apple Health and Safari. It also includes Apple Watch-enabled apps like Workout, World Clock, Find Devices and Heart Rate.
This change could allow Apple to independently update its default apps outside of iOS updates as it does now.
This is a tactic Google follows with many of its core Android features and functions, which have their own Play Store listings.
Appfigures confirmed that the apps appear to have been added as separate listings on October 25, independently of the latest iOS update.
As many consumers are likely unaware of the apps’ listings at this time, they have few reviews. For instance, the Phone app only has six ratings so far, they pointed out, the report said.
Messages has just a handful of ratings, as well, but they’re positive, giving the app 4.7 stars, it added.
Oddly, Safari — which has four ratings, so far — has an age rating of only 4+ for its web browser, while its rivals like Chrome and Firefox are rated 17+, as are other web browsers.