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> The App Store review process is in this spirit, they don't want shitty apps screwing up the experience on their phones. This is false. Apple has banned appli

by Peaker 13y ago

> The App Store review process is in this spirit, they don't want shitty apps screwing up the experience on their phones. This is false. Apple has banned applications for dubious grounds, such as competing with Apple. Extremely useful apps like Swype and its alternatives have been banned. The app store is not just about protecting users from shitty apps, it is also about total control over the iOS platform, often to the detriment of users.

oblique63 13y ago
And this is why I started boycotting Apple products. Honestly, I agree with about 99% of the 'pro-apple' arguments here, because it is frustrating that companies aren't stepping up their UX game, but that's just peanuts compared to this type of nonsense: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6092875 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6092875 Luckily, my Nexus 4 has given me a smoother experience than even my old ipad 2 so far (can't say the same of my nexus 7 unfortunately), so it isn't that bad either way.
gfodor 13y ago
I agree that there have been times where Apple has not allowed an app in the app store for dubious reasons. For example, not allowing Google Maps for the longest time was ridiculous and blatantly anti-competitive. Swype however is kind of an obvious example of something they likely are not allowing not because of fear of competition but because Swype, if successful, would effectively fragment the text input mechanism on iOS. I can respect the argument that on iOS Apple wants to maintain control of the experience of entering text. Regardless if you feel this is an ethical thing to do, I think you have to acknowledge that in that case it is less about anti-competitive behavior and more about maintaining consistency, which is a core tenet of good design. I think overall the App Store process is largely about maintaining things like quality, consistency, and performance, and if you don't believe me you can look to examples like the Facebook platform where the element of human-screening was ignored and the place filled up with garbage.
- Daishiman 13y ago
  That's a pretty BS excuse, they could trivially provide guidelines for input systems that don't fragment things subtantially. They simply don't care about the segment and would rather support a good-enough solution than a best-of-breed.
  - gfodor 13y ago
    Uh, they certainly could do this, but to say it would be trivial is obviously exaggerating. It would be relatively large undertaking to provide guidelines and an approval process for alternative input systems that potentially affect every app on the user's device. Not to mention it would potentially impact the flexibility has for future innovation on this front.
    - cageface 13y ago
      They've painted themselves a bit into a corner on this one because there are a lot of apps in the app store now that make very specific assumptions about the behavior of the stock keyboard that would break if they started allowing third party keyboards. It's a pity too because the primitive stock keyboard is easily my #1 frustration as an iOS device user. Once you've gotten used to something like SwiftKey or Swype on Android it's hard not to get angry at Apple when you're forced to go back to their 2007 keyboard. How is this putting the user first?
vacri 13y ago
I have had three people literally stand agape when they've seen me using Swype to message someone quickly. I can't understand why Apple wouldn't allow them in - it's an incredibly high quality product. When I moved to my new Android phone, I was still setting it up when I realised I didn't have it - I had to install Swype before continuing with the setup...
- beedogs 13y ago
  Apple probably wants to just copy Swype and call it something else. If history is any indication, they'll also claim to be the first to offer Swype-like capability in a mobile device.

by Peaker 13y ago

oblique63 13y ago

And this is why I started boycotting Apple products. Honestly, I agree with about 99% of the 'pro-apple' arguments here, because it is frustrating that companies aren't stepping up their UX game, but that's just peanuts compared to this type of nonsense: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6092875 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6092875 Luckily, my Nexus 4 has given me a smoother experience than even my old ipad 2 so far (can't say the same of my nexus 7 unfortunately), so it isn't that bad either way.

gfodor 13y ago

I agree that there have been times where Apple has not allowed an app in the app store for dubious reasons. For example, not allowing Google Maps for the longest time was ridiculous and blatantly anti-competitive. Swype however is kind of an obvious example of something they likely are not allowing not because of fear of competition but because Swype, if successful, would effectively fragment the text input mechanism on iOS. I can respect the argument that on iOS Apple wants to maintain control of the experience of entering text. Regardless if you feel this is an ethical thing to do, I think you have to acknowledge that in that case it is less about anti-competitive behavior and more about maintaining consistency, which is a core tenet of good design. I think overall the App Store process is largely about maintaining things like quality, consistency, and performance, and if you don't believe me you can look to examples like the Facebook platform where the element of human-screening was ignored and the place filled up with garbage.

Daishiman 13y ago
That's a pretty BS excuse, they could trivially provide guidelines for input systems that don't fragment things subtantially. They simply don't care about the segment and would rather support a good-enough solution than a best-of-breed.
- gfodor 13y ago
  Uh, they certainly could do this, but to say it would be trivial is obviously exaggerating. It would be relatively large undertaking to provide guidelines and an approval process for alternative input systems that potentially affect every app on the user's device. Not to mention it would potentially impact the flexibility has for future innovation on this front.
  - cageface 13y ago
    They've painted themselves a bit into a corner on this one because there are a lot of apps in the app store now that make very specific assumptions about the behavior of the stock keyboard that would break if they started allowing third party keyboards. It's a pity too because the primitive stock keyboard is easily my #1 frustration as an iOS device user. Once you've gotten used to something like SwiftKey or Swype on Android it's hard not to get angry at Apple when you're forced to go back to their 2007 keyboard. How is this putting the user first?

vacri 13y ago

I have had three people literally stand agape when they've seen me using Swype to message someone quickly. I can't understand why Apple wouldn't allow them in - it's an incredibly high quality product. When I moved to my new Android phone, I was still setting it up when I realised I didn't have it - I had to install Swype before continuing with the setup...

beedogs 13y ago
Apple probably wants to just copy Swype and call it something else. If history is any indication, they'll also claim to be the first to offer Swype-like capability in a mobile device.