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Apple's App Store policies are about far more than app quality or safety. Apple has banned many apps for political or financial reasons. Slowing down old phone

Apple's App Store policies are about far more than app quality or safety. Apple has banned many apps for political or financial reasons. Slowing down old phones without notice or permission wasn't the best response to aging batteries. Even Apple didn't deny it was wrong. They apologized, once they were caught. And the MagSafe connector was not a common failure point.

drivingmenuts 8y ago
Personally, I think the MagSafe connector was bloody brilliant and I'm not giving up my mid-2015 MBP until it absolutely won't function any more, because of that feature (it's saved my MBP several times when I was a bit clumsy or forgetful). Another reason: the multiplicity of ports and bunches of things that all use USB-A.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  I believe there's a product, or at least a Kickstarter, to add a MagSafe-style dongle to a USB-C port.
  - raarts 8y ago
    I tried several MagSafe-like USB-C cables and found them lacking reliability, ending up having to re-seat the connectors multiple times to get them to connect properly. Don't think USB-C and MagSafe are a good marriage.
mcintyre1994 8y ago
> Apple bans competing apps regardless of app quality or safety. I don't know what criteria they actually use, but this is at best incredibly inconsistent. There's heaps of competing mail apps, calendars, camera apps, photo apps, weather apps, notes apps, reminders app, messaging apps on iOS, including a Google one in most of those categories.
- leereeves 8y ago
  I know that once upon a time they banned competing apps, including Google Voice. I don't know if that behavior continues but I think it's a bit too soon to forget. https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/27/apple-is-growing-rotten-to-the-core-and-its-likely-atts-fault/ https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/27/apple-is-growing-rotten-to...
  - danaris 8y ago
    This is from nine years ago, when the iOS App Store (then just the iPhone App Store, as the iPad didn't even exist yet!) was less than 2 years old. Calling that "a bit too soon to forget" seems...problematic on several levels.
    - leereeves 8y ago
      Why? They continue to use their control of the app store for financial gain. The clock on forgiveness doesn't start until the abuse stops.
      - danaris 8y ago
        When you're replying to a comment pointing out that there are, in fact, lots of competing apps, and your comment claiming that they're still evil points to an article from nine years ago, you don't demonstrate much credibility to your claims. I think your clocks are just broken.
        leereeves 8y ago
        I didn't say Apple bans all competing apps. They're selectively "evil". And they've faced so much outrage about the app store, and still do (for example, there's a Supreme Court case pending and a recent lawsuit from Spotify) that they are slightly restrained at the moment.
robocat 8y ago
My problem with your first comment is that you misrepresent the issues. Your second reply is worse because you introduce other different issues, without addressing the point (that Apple chooses compromises that you might disagree with). > Slowing down old phones without notice or permission wasn't the best response to aging batteries. Sure, it wasn't handled well, but you said that they did it to force upgrades... That is patently incorrect in my opinion. Apple are far superior at keeping old devices updated than most actors in the Android world (as a comparison point). > And the MagSafe connector was not a common failure point. And your original post complained that "and sells more dongles by eliminating features and changing ports". What does replacing a proprietary magsafe connector with USB C have to do with Apple selling more dongles? There are now plenty of compatible third party options available in more than one category. Regards app store policies: see sibling reply.
- leereeves 8y ago
  My second post addressed your claim that these issues are "well-designed compromises" by disproving it with counterexamples. MagSafe was at once an example of a port changed (MagSafe 1 to 2) and a feature removed (replaced with USB) that didn't fit your explanation "removing a common failure point". Even Apple didn't try to claim that slowing down old phones was a well-designed compromise; instead, they apologized. And there are many examples of Apple removing apps for reasons other than "app quality/safety", for one such example, see my response to sibling reply. These are not "other different issues", these are counterexamples. They may not be the issues you thought of when you read my first post but they were some of the issues I was thinking of.
  - harywilke 8y ago
    "About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown. While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance." https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/ https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/ Unexpected shutdowns vs. longer app launch times and other reductions in performance. a compromise.
briandear 8y ago
They didn’t apologize for doing it; they apologized for not explaining it.
- leereeves 8y ago
  Keeping it secret was part of the design. Who knows what other hidden "compromises" are waiting to be discovered?
jamamp 8y ago
The reason Apple moved to the USB-C charging on the MacBook is because it no longer served the purpose it was originally for. Older MacBooks and MacBook pros were a bit bulky and heavy. Tripping on a MagSafe charger cord connected to one of these would disconnect because the friction of the laptop on its its surface was stronger than that of the magnetic pull of the MagSafe connector. With the new Macook, however, I believe it was much lighter to the point that it would have pulled the laptop down with it upon someone tripping on the cord. It wasn't doing anything to benefit the user at that point. Because of this, they probably opted for a slimmer charging port (USB-C), and it went well with the growing use of USB-C in the industry. I do wish they included more USB-C ports, however. I do not know exactly the reason they opted for USB-C in the new MacBook Pro, however. I believe it would still be heavy enough for MagSafe to be effective. However at this point, USB-C is saturating the market and consolidation in their products may be a more important issue for Apple at this point.

drivingmenuts 8y ago

Personally, I think the MagSafe connector was bloody brilliant and I'm not giving up my mid-2015 MBP until it absolutely won't function any more, because of that feature (it's saved my MBP several times when I was a bit clumsy or forgetful). Another reason: the multiplicity of ports and bunches of things that all use USB-A.

reaperducer 8y ago
I believe there's a product, or at least a Kickstarter, to add a MagSafe-style dongle to a USB-C port.
- raarts 8y ago
  I tried several MagSafe-like USB-C cables and found them lacking reliability, ending up having to re-seat the connectors multiple times to get them to connect properly. Don't think USB-C and MagSafe are a good marriage.

mcintyre1994 8y ago

> Apple bans competing apps regardless of app quality or safety. I don't know what criteria they actually use, but this is at best incredibly inconsistent. There's heaps of competing mail apps, calendars, camera apps, photo apps, weather apps, notes apps, reminders app, messaging apps on iOS, including a Google one in most of those categories.

leereeves 8y ago
I know that once upon a time they banned competing apps, including Google Voice. I don't know if that behavior continues but I think it's a bit too soon to forget. https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/27/apple-is-growing-rotten-to-the-core-and-its-likely-atts-fault/ https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/27/apple-is-growing-rotten-to...
- danaris 8y ago
  This is from nine years ago, when the iOS App Store (then just the iPhone App Store, as the iPad didn't even exist yet!) was less than 2 years old. Calling that "a bit too soon to forget" seems...problematic on several levels.
  - leereeves 8y ago
    Why? They continue to use their control of the app store for financial gain. The clock on forgiveness doesn't start until the abuse stops.
    - danaris 8y ago
      When you're replying to a comment pointing out that there are, in fact, lots of competing apps, and your comment claiming that they're still evil points to an article from nine years ago, you don't demonstrate much credibility to your claims. I think your clocks are just broken.
      - leereeves 8y ago
        I didn't say Apple bans all competing apps. They're selectively "evil". And they've faced so much outrage about the app store, and still do (for example, there's a Supreme Court case pending and a recent lawsuit from Spotify) that they are slightly restrained at the moment.

robocat 8y ago

My problem with your first comment is that you misrepresent the issues. Your second reply is worse because you introduce other different issues, without addressing the point (that Apple chooses compromises that you might disagree with). > Slowing down old phones without notice or permission wasn't the best response to aging batteries. Sure, it wasn't handled well, but you said that they did it to force upgrades... That is patently incorrect in my opinion. Apple are far superior at keeping old devices updated than most actors in the Android world (as a comparison point). > And the MagSafe connector was not a common failure point. And your original post complained that "and sells more dongles by eliminating features and changing ports". What does replacing a proprietary magsafe connector with USB C have to do with Apple selling more dongles? There are now plenty of compatible third party options available in more than one category. Regards app store policies: see sibling reply.

leereeves 8y ago
My second post addressed your claim that these issues are "well-designed compromises" by disproving it with counterexamples. MagSafe was at once an example of a port changed (MagSafe 1 to 2) and a feature removed (replaced with USB) that didn't fit your explanation "removing a common failure point". Even Apple didn't try to claim that slowing down old phones was a well-designed compromise; instead, they apologized. And there are many examples of Apple removing apps for reasons other than "app quality/safety", for one such example, see my response to sibling reply. These are not "other different issues", these are counterexamples. They may not be the issues you thought of when you read my first post but they were some of the issues I was thinking of.
- harywilke 8y ago
  "About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown. While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance." https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/ https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/ Unexpected shutdowns vs. longer app launch times and other reductions in performance. a compromise.

briandear 8y ago

They didn’t apologize for doing it; they apologized for not explaining it.

leereeves 8y ago
Keeping it secret was part of the design. Who knows what other hidden "compromises" are waiting to be discovered?

jamamp 8y ago

The reason Apple moved to the USB-C charging on the MacBook is because it no longer served the purpose it was originally for. Older MacBooks and MacBook pros were a bit bulky and heavy. Tripping on a MagSafe charger cord connected to one of these would disconnect because the friction of the laptop on its its surface was stronger than that of the magnetic pull of the MagSafe connector. With the new Macook, however, I believe it was much lighter to the point that it would have pulled the laptop down with it upon someone tripping on the cord. It wasn't doing anything to benefit the user at that point. Because of this, they probably opted for a slimmer charging port (USB-C), and it went well with the growing use of USB-C in the industry. I do wish they included more USB-C ports, however. I do not know exactly the reason they opted for USB-C in the new MacBook Pro, however. I believe it would still be heavy enough for MagSafe to be effective. However at this point, USB-C is saturating the market and consolidation in their products may be a more important issue for Apple at this point.