6 ms·

Apple pulls app that let you turn your phone into virtual iPod with click wheel

21 points by avonmach 7y ago

rvz 7y ago
Apple really knows how to kill a new craze here. Keeping a harmless iPod simulator on the App Store hardly threatens the sales of iPods these days. (Even though the result of it being pulled probably comes under copyright infringement.) Even long after their extinction, They still want you to buy the real thing for 100x the original price.
- lilyball 7y ago
  It seems frankly ludicrous to claim Apple pulled an iPod simulator for iPhone because they want you to buy physical iPods, especially given that they don't sell physical iPods anymore. The app seems tailor-made to reproduce Apple's intellectual property (i.e. designs), and it also charged a fee for Apple Music features. Even the Verge post from last week said > It’s a clever workaround as long as Apple doesn’t pull the app If you're using workarounds to avoid Apple rejecting your app, you shouldn't be surprised when Apple ends up pulling your app.
  - lern_too_spel 7y ago
    It doesn't advertise itself as an iPod clone. What The Verge called a "clever workaround" was the fact that a skin to make it look like an iPod could be downloaded later. Apple is overreaching again, but that isn't surprising. What's surprising is that anybody, including the app's authors, is surprised.
    - lilyball 7y ago
      The app appears to have been explicitly designed to enable cloning the iPod Classic interface, and making that skin something you download separately was a workaround because it’s pretty obvious that it would get rejected if it shipped that way. I really don’t see this as Apple overreaching, especially given that the app is charging people for Apple Music features, which is definitely not okay.
      - lern_too_spel 7y ago
        > given that the app is charging people for Apple Music features What Apple Music features is it charging for? That isn't even a thing that Apple complained about. > The app appears to have been explicitly designed to enable cloning the iPod Classic interface The default is not an iPod classic interface. I can just as easily make an iPod classic skin for WinAmp. The solution, as always, is to simply avoid Apple's arbitrarily restricted platforms.
        lilyball 7y ago
        Their own description of the app says > We launched an App that let you customize your iPhone to look like a 2000s era MP3 player. It's pretty obvious what the intention is. And while I don't know precisely how skins work, it's hard to imagine that they enabled clickwheel scrolling by accident. > What Apple Music features is it charging for? That isn't even a thing that Apple complained about. I don't know specifically but even their own blog post explicitly cites this as one of the 3 things Apple pulled their app for: > 2. Charging for Apple Music features > This is less unreasonable […]
kayamon 7y ago
Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve positioned companies like Apple as this great gatekeeper of what you can and can’t make. Mandatory app stores remain a terrible idea. Code signing remains a terrible idea. We need to push back against this idiocy.

21 points by avonmach 7y ago

rvz 7y ago

Apple really knows how to kill a new craze here. Keeping a harmless iPod simulator on the App Store hardly threatens the sales of iPods these days. (Even though the result of it being pulled probably comes under copyright infringement.) Even long after their extinction, They still want you to buy the real thing for 100x the original price.

lilyball 7y ago
It seems frankly ludicrous to claim Apple pulled an iPod simulator for iPhone because they want you to buy physical iPods, especially given that they don't sell physical iPods anymore. The app seems tailor-made to reproduce Apple's intellectual property (i.e. designs), and it also charged a fee for Apple Music features. Even the Verge post from last week said > It’s a clever workaround as long as Apple doesn’t pull the app If you're using workarounds to avoid Apple rejecting your app, you shouldn't be surprised when Apple ends up pulling your app.
- lern_too_spel 7y ago
  It doesn't advertise itself as an iPod clone. What The Verge called a "clever workaround" was the fact that a skin to make it look like an iPod could be downloaded later. Apple is overreaching again, but that isn't surprising. What's surprising is that anybody, including the app's authors, is surprised.
  - lilyball 7y ago
    The app appears to have been explicitly designed to enable cloning the iPod Classic interface, and making that skin something you download separately was a workaround because it’s pretty obvious that it would get rejected if it shipped that way. I really don’t see this as Apple overreaching, especially given that the app is charging people for Apple Music features, which is definitely not okay.
    - lern_too_spel 7y ago
      > given that the app is charging people for Apple Music features What Apple Music features is it charging for? That isn't even a thing that Apple complained about. > The app appears to have been explicitly designed to enable cloning the iPod Classic interface The default is not an iPod classic interface. I can just as easily make an iPod classic skin for WinAmp. The solution, as always, is to simply avoid Apple's arbitrarily restricted platforms.
      - lilyball 7y ago
        Their own description of the app says > We launched an App that let you customize your iPhone to look like a 2000s era MP3 player. It's pretty obvious what the intention is. And while I don't know precisely how skins work, it's hard to imagine that they enabled clickwheel scrolling by accident. > What Apple Music features is it charging for? That isn't even a thing that Apple complained about. I don't know specifically but even their own blog post explicitly cites this as one of the 3 things Apple pulled their app for: > 2. Charging for Apple Music features > This is less unreasonable […]

kayamon 7y ago

Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve positioned companies like Apple as this great gatekeeper of what you can and can’t make. Mandatory app stores remain a terrible idea. Code signing remains a terrible idea. We need to push back against this idiocy.