Pinterest Adds 'App Pins' So You Can Find Cool Apps and Instantly Download Them Thanks to a new partnership, you can now download iOS apps directly from the social bookmarking platform.
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There's no arguing that Pinterest's core power lies in discovery. Some 70 million Pinners use the social bookmarking platform to find and "pin" products, recipes, articles, websites and more. Now, thanks to a new partnership with Apple, those users can also use Pinterest to find iPhone and iPad apps -- and even download them directly to their iOS devices without leaving the site.
The new product, called App Pins and debuted on Pinterest's blog today, aims to make it easier to chance across new, interesting iOS apps, something that's often a frustrating task over at Apple's crowded App Store. That's because Apple's mobile app hub is jammed to the gills with 1.4 million apps and growing.
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Install the best new #iPhone and #iPad apps right from Pinterest. Learn about app Pins: http://t.co/h5mIx40COX. #iOS pic.twitter.com/jccb2SgCyi
— Pinterest (@Pinterest) February 12, 2015"We can be a really powerful service for app discovery, which is a problem that still really hasn't been solved," Pinterest founder Evan Sharp told the The New York Times. "Our speciality is really connecting people to the things they want to do."
Here's how App Pins works. As of today, when using Pinterest's app on your iPhone or iPad, if you stumble upon an app Pin that piques your interest, you can download it straight from Pinterest by simply tapping "Install." It's pretty straightforward.
If you're cruising Pinterest from the web and you click on an iOS app Pin, you'll be routed to the standard iTunes Preview page. From there, you can download the app from iTunes.
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As cool and convenient as App Pins sounds for users, we imagine it's also great way for app developers to spread the word about their apps across Pinterest, too. At the moment, Pinterest doesn't plan to directly profit from App Pins, the Times also reports. However, we wouldn't be surprised if Pinterest eventually monetizes the new tool in a way that smacks of Facebook and Twitter's paid app advertising offerings.
To build buzz around the new product and partnership, a few Pinterest employees ("Pinployees") rounded up their favorite iOS apps on a Staff Picks Board. Popular apps like Netflix, Lyft, Pandora and Waze dominate the selection alongside a sprinkling of lesser known apps, like Spaceteam, a multi-player party game, and Headspace, a meditation app.
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Huge news: we're now on @Pinterest! This week we'll be pinning live from #NYFW. https://t.co/bSpUWUKPcK pic.twitter.com/oadXbauiIt
— App Store (@AppStore) February 12, 2015Apple also added its own branded fuel to the promotional fire with an inaugural curated App Store Pinterest profile. It's so fresh that it currently features only 5 Pin Boards and 34 Pins, all of them iOS app-related, of course. One Board is devoted entirely to New York's upcoming Fashion Week, from which Apple says it will be "live pinning."
Sorry, Android users. No Android App Pin action for you. Only Apple fanboys and girls need apply. This is an Apple-exclusive deal and a really big one to boot.
Related: Is Apple's App Store Broken?
