Pulse
Concrete pains from app reviews — and how strong they are
- Photo editors
My favorite filters vanished after an update
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 165 reviews, in 32 of 100 apps. - Language learning
Speech recognition mishears me
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 145 reviews, in 34 of 100 apps. - Couples
Widget won’t show what my partner sent
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 41 reviews, in 13 of 35 apps. - Running
Treadmill mode
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 67 reviews, in 24 of 50 apps. - AI image generation
Extra fingers, arms and legs
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 87 reviews, in 38 of 99 apps. - Notes and knowledge base
Search notes by keyword
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 97 reviews, in 32 of 91 apps. - Study flashcards
Mistakes crop up in the cards
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 38 reviews, in 18 of 34 apps. - Shopping & ecommerce apps
Fakes sold as authentic
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 121 reviews, in 31 of 95 apps. - Shopping & ecommerce apps
The store cancels my paid order
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 120 reviews, in 46 of 95 apps. - Video streaming apps
Blocked because of my location
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 107 reviews, in 29 of 95 apps. - White Noise & Sleep Soundscapes
The sound cuts out in the middle of the night
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 80 reviews, in 34 of 82 apps. - Step counter
Steps don’t match Apple Health or my watch
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 71 reviews, in 25 of 66 apps. - Workouts and fitness
Can’t get the workout onto my TV
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 115 reviews, in 30 of 91 apps. - Listening to music
The next song doesn’t start on its own
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 84 reviews, in 28 of 95 apps. - Recipe & meal-planning apps
Website recipes won’t import
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 75 reviews, in 22 of 79 apps. - Messaging apps
Calls drop and we can’t hear each other
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 95 reviews, in 28 of 96 apps. - Stock investing
My brokerage account won't connect
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 94 reviews, in 13 of 73 apps. - Calendars and tasks
More colors for events and tasks
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 141 reviews, in 45 of 100 apps. - Workouts and fitness
The same exercises every single time
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 110 reviews, in 40 of 91 apps. - Personal finance
My bank can't be connected
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 102 reviews, in 23 of 99 apps. - Food delivery apps
I get the wrong order
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 106 reviews, in 47 of 94 apps. - Wallpapers & widgets
The catalog is full of AI-generated images
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 72 reviews, in 25 of 79 apps. - Messaging apps
Photos and videos won’t send
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 91 reviews, in 37 of 96 apps. - Food delivery apps
Special requests for my order
Pain 5 out of 10, noticeable. 105 reviews, in 39 of 94 apps.
How we count
The sample is up to 500 recent App Store reviews for each of about 100 popular apps per category. We look for each need across all of the category’s reviews and check a random sample of matches by hand: at least 80% are correct.
“Pain” is a rough score from 1 to 10: half comes from the share of the category’s reviews that mention it, 30% from how many such reviews there are in total, 20% from the share of apps where it comes up. It is not search demand and not market size.
In words: 1–3 mild · 4–6 noticeable · 7–8 strong · 9–10 acute.