Welcome to the latest edition of ASO Monthly — your monthly download of the most important developments in App Store Optimization. Each month, we cover algorithm shifts, emerging trends, conversion insights, and the tools shaping the mobile growth landscape.
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April 14
New Android Vitals metrics on Play Console support app quality and performance
Google has rolled out new Android Vitals metrics to the Play Console designed to help developers improve app quality and user experience. Updates include:
- Pre-review checks for edge-to-edge rendering and large-screen layout issues
- A redesigned dashboard that flags top user-impacting issues
- A new “low memory kill” metric for identifying terminations caused by memory limits
- A metric for excessive wakelocks (in collaboration with OEMs like Samsung) to reduce battery drain
Another notable addition is the new Opens metric, which tracks how often users with the latest app version launch it from the store listing. This helps teams understand how effectively their store listing re-engages existing users.
April 14
Apple Search Ads is just Apple Ads now
Apple has officially renamed “Apple Search Ads” to Apple Ads, signaling a shift toward a more comprehensive ad suite. This rebrand aligns with Apple’s expansion into broader ad placements across its ecosystem. The change includes new sign-in URLs via ads.apple.com.
April 25
Google Play now supports custom audiences for Promotional Content
Google Play now allows developers to target Promotional Content events using custom email lists — as long as they contain at least 5,000 addresses. Once uploaded and approved, these lists can be used to deliver targeted messaging within the Play Console’s promotional tools.
April 29
Google removes 1.8 million apps to boost store quality
Google has removed approximately 1.8 million apps — nearly half of all listings — from the Play Store over the past year. This large-scale purge targets low-quality, non-compliant, and deceptive apps. The move follows a major ad fraud case involving over 56 million downloads. To reinforce platform integrity, Google has tightened review processes, increased human oversight, and mandated more thorough testing.
Despite the reduction, new app submissions rose 7.1% year-over-year, suggesting a trend toward higher-quality releases.
Interesting Reads/Listens/Watches
Guide to App Store Analytics: Find the Data, Follow the Clues, Grow | AppFollow
Paid vs Organic App Growth: What’s Really Working in 2025 | SEM Nexus
The State of App Marketing in Spanish LATAM – Edition 2025 | AppsFlyer
Tool Updates
AppFollow product updates: what’s new in Q1 2025
ASO With Phiture’s Experts
Product Page Optimization (PPO) experiments can still yield noisy or inconsistent results. To improve reliability, we recommend:
- Making bold changes — small tweaks may be too subtle to register
- Running AAB or ABB tests with at least two variants to validate accuracy
- Considering applying variants directly and using sequential analysis when traffic is low, rather than running formal tests
- Allowing tests to run for at least 1–2 weeks or through multiple traffic peaks
— Talha Mumtaz, Growth Manager
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