4 ms·

The infamous processes just aren't happening. When an app is updated you have to put it for review, but they don't seem to check anymore. I've worked with a co

by whstl 4y ago

The infamous processes just aren't happening. When an app is updated you have to put it for review, but they don't seem to check anymore. I've worked with a couple of customers and we had to send Apple custom credentials for login, and they never use the credentials. Sure: perhaps they just wanted to see the boring login screen, or just do some automatic checking of the code. But apart from the first version, they don't seem to really open the app anymore.

everyone 4y ago
The last app I submitted (a few weeks ago), they rejected it like 1 minute later.. Saying they wanted me to send them a link to a video of if being used (That is not a requirement that is written anywhere on the app store or its docs).. After replying with a video link they immediately accepted it.. I can only assume they just wanted to watch a video and give it a pass rather than bother actually opening it themselves.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  That's really funny. My guess is actually not laziness but their device just had some problem installing apps or whatever and they had a quota to fulfill.
- ShadowBanThis01 4y ago
  Yep. I've had them do this multiple times, although my app was made to control specific hardware that they didn't have. I did put a "demo" backdoor into the app for them to use without the hardware, but they demanded a video. I thought that was pretty reasonable and sort of enjoyed doing it. But... there is so much wrong with the App Store, and Apple purposefully keeps it that way. For example, the so-called search is an absolute sham. Apple claims that publisher name is one of the top three criteria for app search, but searching for our app by exact publisher name didn't bring it up AT ALL. At least not in the first 300 listings, which is where I stopped. What WAS in those first 300 listings? 300 that didn't contain the search string ANYWHERE. The first few contained a similarly-spelled name that Apple replaced the search term with, without asking... essentially undermining our trademark. After that there was nothing but completely irrelevant results, including numerous FART APPS, which Apple decries as undesirable in its own documentation. When challenged on this repeatedly, Apple (after initially blowing off my complaint with boilerplate) claimed to have reviewed the situation and found everything working fine. I would have had to escalate it to a legal issue asserting some kind of hijacking of our trademark (no idea if there's any legal ground to stand on there) to take it further. Apple knows the search is bullshit and lies about it. You can test it yourself as a developer.
- saagarjha 4y ago
  The reason they give sometimes is that they don’t know how to use the app so watching you do so helps them understand what it’s for.
wahnfrieden 4y ago
Nah this is revisionist. I’ve launched top 10 apps since App Store began. There have always been scam apps and variety of attention paid even when they took TWO WEEKS to get back to you. It has always been BS, just faster BS now.
quesera 4y ago
For what it's worth, I've seen the opposite. Apple requires demo/test credentials for apps, and when we push a new version, I frequently see that account log in from a 17.x.x.x (Apple's class A) IP address. It might depend on the type of app (e.g. games vs finance etc) or the permissions the app requests.
- RowanH 4y ago
  Ditto - I think it's also human testing in my case (or randomised automated testing). We have a commenting feature, sometimes I see comments sometimes not.. I think I've always seen api requests come through. Just wish it was a whole load faster... when you find a critical issue and want to get it out the door quickly, super frustrating to be waiting !

by whstl 4y ago

everyone 4y ago

The last app I submitted (a few weeks ago), they rejected it like 1 minute later.. Saying they wanted me to send them a link to a video of if being used (That is not a requirement that is written anywhere on the app store or its docs).. After replying with a video link they immediately accepted it.. I can only assume they just wanted to watch a video and give it a pass rather than bother actually opening it themselves.

crazygringo 4y ago
That's really funny. My guess is actually not laziness but their device just had some problem installing apps or whatever and they had a quota to fulfill.
ShadowBanThis01 4y ago
Yep. I've had them do this multiple times, although my app was made to control specific hardware that they didn't have. I did put a "demo" backdoor into the app for them to use without the hardware, but they demanded a video. I thought that was pretty reasonable and sort of enjoyed doing it. But... there is so much wrong with the App Store, and Apple purposefully keeps it that way. For example, the so-called search is an absolute sham. Apple claims that publisher name is one of the top three criteria for app search, but searching for our app by exact publisher name didn't bring it up AT ALL. At least not in the first 300 listings, which is where I stopped. What WAS in those first 300 listings? 300 that didn't contain the search string ANYWHERE. The first few contained a similarly-spelled name that Apple replaced the search term with, without asking... essentially undermining our trademark. After that there was nothing but completely irrelevant results, including numerous FART APPS, which Apple decries as undesirable in its own documentation. When challenged on this repeatedly, Apple (after initially blowing off my complaint with boilerplate) claimed to have reviewed the situation and found everything working fine. I would have had to escalate it to a legal issue asserting some kind of hijacking of our trademark (no idea if there's any legal ground to stand on there) to take it further. Apple knows the search is bullshit and lies about it. You can test it yourself as a developer.
saagarjha 4y ago
The reason they give sometimes is that they don’t know how to use the app so watching you do so helps them understand what it’s for.

wahnfrieden 4y ago

Nah this is revisionist. I’ve launched top 10 apps since App Store began. There have always been scam apps and variety of attention paid even when they took TWO WEEKS to get back to you. It has always been BS, just faster BS now.

quesera 4y ago

For what it's worth, I've seen the opposite. Apple requires demo/test credentials for apps, and when we push a new version, I frequently see that account log in from a 17.x.x.x (Apple's class A) IP address. It might depend on the type of app (e.g. games vs finance etc) or the permissions the app requests.

RowanH 4y ago
Ditto - I think it's also human testing in my case (or randomised automated testing). We have a commenting feature, sometimes I see comments sometimes not.. I think I've always seen api requests come through. Just wish it was a whole load faster... when you find a critical issue and want to get it out the door quickly, super frustrating to be waiting !