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Apple rejects developer's horoscope app, says App Store has enough
- dehrmann 5y agoIt's not a garden unless you pull some weeds.
- soultrees 5y agoThis is troubling because the future economy will be segregated to corporate walled gardens with each of them standing as gatekeepers to a falsely free economy, under the guise that it’s a private network. Couple that with a % of every economic transaction that occurs within these walled gardens, these companies are amazing capital and gaining political influence at a faster rate.
- herpderperator 5y ago> Also avoid piling on to a category that is already saturated; the App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight, fortune telling, dating, drinking games, and Kama Sutra apps, etc. already. I had to double-take to see if this was really a statement from Apple... It was.
- colejohnson66 5y agoBefore Apple added the flashlight feature into their OS, flashlight apps were flooding the store. IIRC, this is the exact text they added at that time
- analog31 5y agoOn Android, it's guitar tuners.
- ryantgtg 5y agoMy MIL still uses a flashlight app on her iPhone, because she doesn’t know the difference between a feature and an app, and because each time she gets a new phone all her apps are ported over. Whenever she turns on her flashlight a huge ad blazes across the screen (and the screen doesn’t seem to turn off), and I keep meaning to tell her she doesn’t need that app.
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 5y agoIntroduce her to the built-in flashlight (“It’s right on your lock screen and a long press on the symbol turns on the flashlight”) and remove the third-party app.
- ryantgtg 5y agoMaybe you can introduce it to her for me.
- bradly 5y agoApple hired/acquired the developer of one of the top flashlight apps in in the app store.
- unraveller 5y agoAnd apple calls itself an innovative company. They say no more lightbulb apps forgetting it took Edison 5000 filaments to find the best one. Naturally if you trust one dev for one job, and not to ruin the app, you will likely trust them for another, category saturation be damned. I don't see much benefit for users when the manufacturer dictates what developers are not to build for users based on some archaic first in best dressed system from 2008.
- viraptor 5y agoIn many cases it would make sense, but flashlight apps? They're literally an on-off switch for a single system resource. There's nothing that you can add to them to improve the experience.
- ofrzeta 5y agoHow about a timer that switches the "flashlight" off after a configurable period of time? :-)
- albert_e 5y agoOr an app that switches on flashlight based on ambient light sensor or phone movement gestures using gyroscope
- mod 5y agoUsing the screen as a light Dimming the screen Different colors on the screen Calculation of how long light will last SOS signaling Strobe setting Light in response to some kind of input, like audio or camera Blinking light with adjustable frequency Yeah, there's probably more features that could be put into a flashlight app.
- viraptor 5y agoYes, those are features you could add to a flashlight app, and you'd likely concentrate on those features instead. I would argue that each of those is very different than a flashlight app which turns the camera light on/off and would be unlikely to be even called a "flashlight app". There's tons of flashlight apps which only do the on/off switch and the only differentiation is how they try to get money off of you or what data they want to steal.
- whoopdedo 5y agoProposal: When a new app is submitted in a saturated category, poll the oldest N apps for usage and developer activity. If one of them is below a threshold of relevance then mark it for removal and allow the new app to replace it.
- i_like_apis 5y agoI have been using the Samsung store for a little while and am shocked by the overwhelming number of low quality apps that are stuffed in there. Long live the walled garden for Apple.
- mongol 5y agoIt is not that it is a walled garden that is a problem. It is that it is the only garden.
- Aeolun 5y agoUnfortunately, the app store is already full of duplicate, horrible apps. Blocking one more or less is not going to make a difference.
- forty 5y agoIt's true that in practice 1000 horoscope apps or 10000 horoscope apps is not going to make a difference for the user. Maybe apple is afraid it can saturate their review process.
- curiousgal 5y agoA 2 trillion dollar company that is flushed with cash should not have any process bottleneck.
- Aeolun 5y agoNot one based on manpower anyway
- skinnymuch 5y agoHey now. They don’t have that much cash. They have spent nearly $350B cash on stock buybacks in the past five years!
- ChuckNorris89 5y agoPardon me, but why were you using Samsung's garbage app store and not the Google Play store? More like long live F-droid as there's no way in hell I'm voluntarily locking myself into Apple's high-quality, nice and shiny walled garden where basically they fully control the device and what I'm allowed to install on it, while renting it out to me for a fee and can scan it for whenever content they want (CP pics today, Tank Man pics tomorrow). The level of quality apps on F-Droid is ironically much higher than anywhere else, and they're all ad-free, privacy focused and most of the time open source as well.
- smnrchrds 5y agoIf this is all true, does that mean Apple is now picking winners and losers? (Besides themselves of course, Apple's apps have always been chosen as the winner)
- bb88 5y agoMaybe it's deciding what the losers are and just thins out the herd.
- wirthjason 5y ago> We will reject these apps unless they provide a unique, high-quality experience. It makes sense. If there’s a crowded market but you’re good and unique they will let you in. Feels fair to me. I looked around for the site thinking there might a web version. Can’t find anything. All the top hits just return articles about the App Store rejection. I feel Apple made the right choice.
- paulryanrogers 5y agoCreates a race to get in first, even if a mediocre effort. Unless one can get in solely by being somehow higher quality than the other offerings. Unless I'm missing something it feels heavy handed and less likely to produce a competitive market.
- zepto 5y agoWhat’s the point in adding more products if they are neither unique nor higher quality?
- postalrat 5y agoIs this an example of an app that isn't unique or high quality?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mirekrusin 5y agoHe should do webapp to penetrate market on all fronts, for fart-humour horoscope the sky is the limit.
- rubatuga 5y agoapple should embrace the progressive fart app future already.
- rvz 5y ago> We will reject these apps unless they provide a unique, high-quality experience. Apple has a point. Otherwise I would not be seeing tons of Calendar apps on the App Store. This looks like typical quality over quantity control here. Nothing to see here.
- frumper 5y agoConsistency is a major problem with enforcement of this. Let user metrics pick winners in the search.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago> Nothing to see here. Except there are no other marketplaces on which this developer can sell his app to iPhone users. That’s the issue. Apple has a stranglehold because they do not allow other app stores.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- pentae 5y agoWe should also tell Google to limit the search results to just 5. That would prevent you from having to see tons of search results on google.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago> We should also tell Google to limit the search results to just 5 Generic we shouldn't. But if Google decided to do that, I can't see how one could object.
- amanaplanacanal 5y agoTwo sponsored ads, one link to a content farm, and two links to Pinterest. Probably not a lot different from what we see already.
- notyourwork 5y agoApp Store development has me sort of offended. If I build it I’m not certain users can even try it unless apple (gatekeeper) decides their user base should. It’s certainly a walled garden and perhaps a reason I’ve steered my career away from mobile development.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoWe need to be able to use non-Apple app stores for iPhone.
- FractalParadigm 5y agoI was really hoping this would be the outcome of Epic v. Apple, but alas it was not. I honestly don't know if I understand any reasoning behind it. I would buy an iPhone tomorrow if I could get a web browser or keyboard that weren't effectively skins of the default/included one.
- dliff 5y agoWhile web browsers on iOS are unfortunately just re-skinned Safari, you actually are able to create/download totally custom keyboards. A while back I created a custom keyboard to translate what you type and help you learn a new language.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago> While web browsers on iOS are unfortunately just re-skinned Safari, Is that also true for Firefox, Chrome on iOS?
- raydev 5y ago"Re-skinned Safari" is incorrect, but third party browsers must use the version of WebKit that ships with iOS. Third parties are not allowed to use their own rendering or JavaScript engines.
- amahajan 5y agoShame that the astrologer could not predict this (tongue in cheek)
- rgoulter 5y agoThe developer has some screenshots on Twitter https://twitter.com/nightcatprod/status/1439773812753637378 https://twitter.com/nightcatprod/status/1439773812753637378 Seems like it's got humorous horoscopes. Given that the screenshots are all of just text on a screen, and the development took about a year, I wonder if the rejection is more about the app being 'low quality' rather than about it being just another horoscope app. Regardless, it seems weird to reject an app because there are already apps in the store which are similar.
- dawnerd 5y agoYears ago I made a similar app for that’s what she said jokes and was rejected due to minimal functionality. This was the same time they were allowing those scam 1000 apps that just showed a diamond. Apple makes no sense.
- dangero 5y agoThat's because reviews are done by a single person from a large group of possible reviewers who each have differing perspectives. Do you see a way that Apple could be consistent besides letting every app in?
- jobigoud 5y agoMaybe have a part of the store dedicated to pre-release/experimental versions and have interested users beta test and review these. Then based on early feedback the app graduates or not to the general public.
- dawnerd 5y agoWell yeah you make the rules in a way that there’s little room for personal opinion on behalf of the reviewer. As it is now their rules are pretty vague.
- DantesKite 5y agoGetting into the App Store requires a bit of politics and negotiation. Nearly everybody I know gets rejected the first time, unless you have a clearly high quality app. I got mine accepted by submitting screenshots of people saying they were excited about it.
- sebow 5y agoAnd if the idea is unique, you still get rejected until Apple makes a clone of your app and waits until it takes the first place before letting you on their store. I don't mean to sound offensive here but how much longer will devs who want to publish for google/apple stores persist with these mainstream options? Android has at least F-Droid, and a quick search for apple gave me ioshaven/appvaley[i have no idea about these 2 so take them as risky]. At some point people should either start looking for alternatives or start making them.Obviously short-term they don't have the "potential" of a big store, but at the same time the probability of making it big on the store as an indie(or even as a medium team) is getting smaller by the month.Pity is on limited supply when we've seen over and over again the intent from the owners of these stores.
- sandworm101 5y agoI guess the free market has spoken and what is wants is no more free markets. Apple is shooting itself in the foot with this. More choice in products is always better than less.
- bb88 5y agoI disagree. What's worse than trying to pick between 10 different apps that do the exact same thing? Trying to pick between 11 different apps.
- sandworm101 5y agoI face the same problem every time I buy mustard at the supermarket. Dozens of flavors to choose from and only so much money. The tyranny of choice is a small price to pay.
- i_like_apis 5y agoBut the supermarket is a walled garden too. They choose what to put on the shelf based on quality and shelf space. Buying mustard on Amazon is closer to the issue, or products where many imitators compete like meal prep Tupperware or water bottles.
- ChuckNorris89 5y ago>But the supermarket is a walled garden too. They choose what to put on the shelf based on quality and shelf space. Big supermarket chains are the ultimate walled gardens our modern society and it's crazy they've been allowed to go through with their practices for so long. Unless you're some 400 pound gorilla like Unilever or Nestle, trying to get your product on a supermarket's shelves resembles a mob shakedown. The margins they'll try to squeeze out of you are insane.
- sandworm101 5y ago>> But the supermarket is a walled garden too. From my perspective as a customer there is no wall. I am free to go to any other market and pick from their mustard selection. Or I can grow and mill my own mustard at home. That would be like Apple allowing me to use competitor app stores and even install my own open source software.
- afurculita 5y agoOn Apple's side on this.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y agoThe issue is the developer cannot put his app on another App Store for iPhone users. He should still be able to offer this app to iPhone users, but not on apple’s App Store if they so choose.
- mission_failed 5y agoSorry Firefox we already have a browser app Sorry bank we already have a banking app Sorry Democrats the Republicans have already done a politics app
- TechBro8615 5y agoWhy? Do you feel likely to be tricked into downloading this app if it were distributed on the App Store?
- ffhhj 5y agoNothing new, in Google Play it's not possible to publish another _____craft game or meme app. There are probably a long list of app categories that are banned or very controlled.
- aspyct 5y agoAh yes, encoutered that one before, for my "Guesstimate" app. Shake phone to estimate development time. They didn't seem to like the idea.
- wintermutestwin 5y agoFireFox has "recommended" extensions that meet their "standards for security and performance." Looking through the current "crapstore" for quality is a huge PITA. Apple could easily make their walled garden actually good by grading the apps in their store. (and yeah yeah - I should be able to sideload whatever I want, but this is a slightly different topic here)
- yarcob 5y agoI published an app on the App Store, which did quite well in its niche. Soon, a bunch of very similar apps popped up. One app cloned everything about my app -- even the icon. But Apple didn't care. They don't give a shit when people clone apps and try to mislead customers by making apps that have almost the same name as another app. Apple should focus on getting rid of scam apps and blatant rip-offs. Who cares if there are 100s of horoscope apps on the store? It's not like shelf space is limited. As long as an app doesn't harm or mislead customers, I don't see why Apple should reject it.
- systemvoltage 5y agoNot to undermine your effort, but isn't this the same outside of Apple? Kickstarter projects get cloned and ask a legitimate Amazon seller how their products got overrun by Chinese clones. That said, I would expect Apple to be a little better for 30% cut.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agoThat's true, on the other hand the fact that copyapps even copy icons and have very close sounding names in the same space would be a trivial thing to guard against.
- systemvoltage 5y agoMachine learning like its 2010! Agree, it would be not too difficult.
- bradly 5y agoYou can file a DMCA on the icon and you may get a quicker response. I used a DMCA to take down a fraudulent listing of one of my rental properties after all other contact channels were tried.
- wintermutestwin 5y ago>Apple should focus on getting rid of scam apps and blatant rip-offs. Since they have a walled garden, they have a clear responsibility. A system of empowered consumer advocates should have the power to force them to live up to this responsibility. >It's not like shelf space is limited. Hard disagree. If you add infinite shelves, you make it too hard to find valuable apps. I am all for the walled garden, but Apple is instead making a walled crapstore.
- aaomidi 5y agoPoor apple is running out of disk space. Simply can't host another app.
- cblconfederate 5y agoImagine putting on an effort for months and not even be able to put it online, literally throwing it all away. Developers are like oranges: when in excess, they are just dumped in a landfill.
- fshr 5y agoHow/why would a horoscope app take months to make? It sounds like a weekend project - especially if it was rejected for having nothing original or interesting to differentiate it.
- jobigoud 5y agoI would think it would take a lot more than a week end to develop the necessary machine learning models capable of accurately predicting future events based on the user's birth day.
- cblconfederate 5y agodoes this account for the time / cost / effort to join and learn apple's platforms?