Apple’s App Store Forgets How to Speak Chinese, Shows You Weird Search Results

Well, that ain't working...

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes App Store seems to have forgotten how to speak Chinese. Well, it is a tough language to crack. If you search using Chinese characters on the App Store right now, you may find some ridiculous search results. So I tested it out (pictured above), and indeed it seems that Apple’s app search mechanism is broken right now – but only in Chinese. It still remembers English and apparently every other language.

On the Twitter-like Weibo it’s easy to find Chinese netizens complaining about – and discussing – this issue. An Apple group on Sina Weibo shows a series of nice screenshots clearly highlighting the search errors. The problem was actually identified last night but users are still experiencing search hiccups right now. Local Chinese users thought it might be a problem with the Chinese version of App Store, but since my iPhone is tied to a Singapore account, the problem must be global in terms of it messing up Chinese text.

We have reached out to Apple to find out more information and we will update if we hear back. For now, users can search for an app through a search engine on their phone and find the correct iTunes link that’ll then open up the iTunes app to download the app. Happy app hunting!