What you need to know
- "App Store Confidential" is number one on Amazon.
- It's likely because it got so much press attention recently.
- And that press attention only came because Apple wants it banned.
The "App Store Confidential" book that Apple is trying to get banned is currently sitting pretty in number one spot (opens in new tab) as an Amazon bestseller. And it's probably only because Apple tried to get it canned.
Nobody had heard of the book until a couple of days ago when Apple made its move to have it banned and all copies recalled. The book is only available in Germany right now, too, but it's selling up a storm.
To compound matters, it doesn't appear that the book blows the lid off any major App Store secrets, either. As Reuters notes, there's nothing in this book that isn't already known.
Yet, apart from a brief account of a visit by CEO Tim Cook to Berlin and tips on how app developers should pitch their wares to Apple, the book betrays few - if any - details over how the $1.4 trillion U.S. company does business.
Publisher Murmann says that the initial run of 4,000 copies is selling well and that more are being printed. At the time of the Reuters report the book was in the number two spot – it's not at the top of the pile.
So who is Tom Sadowski, the ex-App Store boss in Germany, and what makes him such an important figure right now? Not a lot, it seems.
'App Store Confidential', by self-styled German rapper, ski instructor and marketing manager Tom Sadowski, is part autobiography and part self-help guide for Generation Z readers looking to navigate their way into the tech scene.
That sounds a thrilling read. Maybe if Apple hadn't gotten involved the book would have sold a few copies and been fogotten about. Now, it's making waves despite its lack of new information.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
