Rather than updating apps individually, Mac users can wield a convenient feature of the App Store that initiates a bulk software update to every app installed from the Mac App Store, all with a single click. And the App Store application itself on macOS is a slow, tedious little wart on the operating system, isolating apps from the rest of the content that your users want to buy from Apple.
macOS Mojave comes with a whole new App Store, marking the first major overhaul to the storefront since it debuted way back in 2011 on Snow Leopard.
![The The](http://evolver.fm/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mac_app_store_music.png)
It launched with a strong start, boasting 1 million downloads in the first day.
The shine wouldn’t last, however. Over the subsequent years, major developers left the Mac App Store over restrictions imposed on their apps in terms of sandboxing, and in protest of Apple’s 30 percent cut of their revenue. The app itself became buggy and unstable, despite being home to both app and system updates.
In recent years, the Mac App Store has felt a bit like a ghost town, populated by Apple’s own apps and a host of apps that should have never been approved by Apple. While many, many macOS customers still use it every day, there is a growing number of us who will always buy software directly from a developer’s website, if at all possible.
Clearly, this is not the situation Apple foresaw seven years ago, and now the company is hitting the reset button.
Welcome to the new Mac App Store:
As you can see, the application has been completely reworked. Gone are the tabs across the top. They have been replaced with a new menu on the left side of the window, and all of the organization within the app has been changed, along with the design itself.
The new Discover tab is not unlike the Today tab in the iOS App Store, but will be updated less frequently than its mobile cousin. That makes a lot of sense to me, as the Mac App Store is a fraction of the size, with a smaller user base.
Frequency of editorial updates aside, Apple now has the same tools for storytelling on the Mac as it does on the iPhone and iPad. Apple’s ever-growing editorial team does great work, highlighting apps and developers, creating compelling collections, and surfacing things from the store that might otherwise go unnoticed. It also helps reinforce the narrative that if you want quality apps, Apple’s platforms are where you should be.
Take this recent story about MindNode 5 for example. When viewed in Mojave, it tells the story of an excellent mind mapping application, while also explaining the concept of mind mapping itself:
Beyond the large editorial content at the top of the page, the homepage of the Mac App Store features a handful of lists, including the old standbys of “Top Paid” and “Top Free,” as well as a selection of apps that have been awarded “Editor’s Choice.”
From there, the new Mac App Store is broken into four main sections:
- Create
- Work
- Play
- Develop
These sections all function as mini-homepages, each focused on Mac apps that fall into those broad buckets. Currently, the Develop tab is the least populated, but it still feels comprehensive, just smaller than the other sections.
The next-to-last section is Categories, and serves the same function as it did in the previous version of the Mac App Store: to be a springboard into a specific section of the App Store for further exploration.
While the old App Store used app icons to spruce up the list, with Mojave, Apple is using a nice collection of icons. I think it’s an improvement:
The final section of the new Mac App Store is Updates. It shows you any third-party apps that have updates, as well as a couple of recently-updated ones.
A big change this year is that system updates, such as macOS updates, security patches and more, are now accessed and installed via System Preferences:
This preference pane is also used to manage what updates your Mac may download and even install automatically:
Some of these options can also be accessed via the Mac App Store’s in-app preference pain, located under the App Store menu.
Other items, such as a list of previously-purchased items, access to account settings, and more are now all located in a single place. Simply click your name (or account name) in the far bottom-left corner of the App Store to reveal these features.
All of these changes feel positive to me, as a long-time Mac user. As always, Mac users can — and often do — install software downloaded from the web, but a strong Mac App Store is good for the platform. As iOS apps start to show up on the Mac starting with next year’s macOS release, it’s going to be a more important destination than ever. Apple is doing the right thing by pouring resources and attention into it now. If you’ve written off the Mac App Store in the past, give it another shot after upgrading to macOS Mojave.
Get Our Best Photography Tips & Workflows
Transform your photos and edits from average to awesome with our in-depth, mobile photography course. It’s jam-packed with training, ideas, and lessons that can literally transform your photography overnight.
In your purchase history, you can do these things:
- See a complete list of your purchases from the App Store and iTunes Store.
- Request a refund.
- Report a problem with an app or other item.
- See the date when you bought an item or the date when an order was billed.
- See which payment method was charged for an item.
- Resend a receipt to yourself via email.
To see your purchase history, tap or click this button:
If your purchase history doesn't appear when you tap or click the button, follow the steps below.
If you need to cancel a subscription or redownload something that you purchased, you don't need to view your purchase history.
Change or cancel a subscription >
Redownload apps, music, movies, and more >
Change or cancel a subscription >
Redownload apps, music, movies, and more >
See your purchase history on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap your name, then tap iTunes & App Store.
- Tap your Apple ID, then tap View Apple ID. You might be asked to sign in.
- Scroll to Purchase History and tap it. If you want to see purchases that you made more than 90 days prior, tap Last 90 Days, then select a date range.
- Find the item, then tap Total Billed.
- From here, you can do these things:
- To request a refund or report a problem with the item, tap the item, then tap 'Report a Problem' and describe your issue.
- To see the date when you bought the item and the device you used to buy it, tap the item.
- To send yourself a new email receipt, tap Resend. You can’t send a receipt for a free item.
Learn what to do if you don’t see the item you’re looking for or if you see unexpected charges.
See your purchase history on your computer
- Open the Music app or iTunes. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, choose Account, then click View My Account.
- On the Account Information page, scroll down to Purchase History. Next to Most Recent Purchase, click See All.
- Find the item. It might take a moment for your Purchase History to appear. If you want to see purchases that you made more than 90 days prior, click Last 90 Days, then select a date range.
- From here, you can do these things:
- To request a refund or report a problem with the item, click More, then click 'Report a Problem' and describe your issue.
- To send yourself a new email receipt, click the order ID, then click Resend. You can’t send a receipt for a free item.
- To see which device you used to purchase the item, click More.
Learn what to do if you don’t see the item you’re looking for or if you see unexpected charges.
See recent purchases on any device
- Go to reportaproblem.apple.com.
- Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
- From here, you can do these things:
Report issues or request a refund
To request a refund or report a problem with an item, find the item, then tap or click 'Report' or 'Report a Problem.”
If you want to see charges for Apple Music, Apple News+, or iCloud storage, or charges from older purchases, view your purchase history through Settings or the App Store.
See receipts
To view receipts for your recent purchases, go to the Receipts tab. If you’re not sure what you were charged for but you know the exact amount, search for the amount. To see charges from older purchases, view your purchase history through Settings or the App Store.
To send yourself an email receipt, find the item, then tap or click Receipt. At the bottom of the invoice, tap or click Print or Send. You can’t send a receipt for a free item.
Learn what to do if you don’t see the item you’re looking for or if you see unexpected charges.
If you can't find an item in your purchase history
If you can’t find the item you’re looking for, try these things before you contact Apple.
Find out if a family member purchased the item
If you use Family Sharing, your purchase history shows purchases that you made using your Apple ID, but you won't see what other family members bought. To see what other family members bought, sign in with their Apple ID.
If you want to control what kids buy, use Ask to Buy or Restrictions.
Turn on Ask to Buy.
![Store Store](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125847973/956411659.jpg)
Use Restrictions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Check if you purchased the item with a different Apple ID
If you don't see an item in your purchase history, you might have been signed in with a different Apple ID when you made the purchase. Sign in with that Apple ID to check if your purchases were billed to that account.
Sign in with your Apple ID.
If you still can’t find your purchase, contact Apple Support.
If you see purchases that you don't recognize or unexpected charges
- If you see items in your purchase history that you don't remember buying, check if someone else who uses your device, such as a family member, bought the item. If someone else is using your Apple ID and password, change your Apple ID password.
- If you don't recognize a charge on your statement from your bank or financial institution, try these steps.
- If you still need help, contact Apple Support.
Learn more
- If you see an in-app purchase in your purchase history but you don't see it in the app, learn how to restore in-app purchases.
- Get more information about how to request a refund.
- Before you can request a refund, you might need to pay for pending purchases or fix a problem with your payment method.
- Learn about how App Store and iTunes Store purchases are billed.
- If you received a suspicious email notification about a purchase, the email might not be from Apple or reflect actual charges to your account. Learn how to identify legitimate App Store or iTunes Store emails.
Store availability and features might vary by country or region. Learn what’s available in your country or region.