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I'm not sure how "Doesn't work on iOS 7" qualifies as a negative review exactly. He's not saying the app is a pile of crap. He's saying it doesn't work on iOS 7

by deong 13y ago

I'm not sure how "Doesn't work on iOS 7" qualifies as a negative review exactly. He's not saying the app is a pile of crap. He's saying it doesn't work on iOS 7, which appears to be a factual statement. App reviews are not a guaranteed advertising venue. They are there for the reader, not the developer. The fact that an app doesn't work on iOS 7 is relevant to anyone using iOS 7, whether or not it's an official release yet. As the article says, the iOS 7 beta is pretty widespread at this point. I don't think you can have it both ways; if the beta is in that many hands, then the feedback is useful for potential buyers. Unfortunately, I'm guessing many of these reviews rate the app poorly as well. That's a much more legitimate complaint, and I assume what the author really wants to curtail. I think restricting reviews is the wrong way to go though. If you really can't be bothered to fix the issue until launch, then stick something in the description telling people that the iOS 7 version will be live on launch day. If enough people are complaining about it in the meantime to make a significant difference in your app's rating, then I'd take that as a pretty clear sign that you should consider fixing the problem. No one is forcing you to rewrite from scratch, and the vast majority of apps are going to update existing codebases just fine instead.

jads 13y ago
The problem isn't so much that people are complaining it doesn't work with iOS 7, it's that those reviews are usually accompanied by a low star rating or, in some cases, harsh criticism based upon the user's ignorance. I don't mean ignorant in a harsh or derogatory way, I mean it literally - the user doesn't know why and assumes that because the app is the thing that is crashing, it must be the app.
- deong 13y ago
  I would expect that sort of user to (a) probably not be running an iOS beta, and (b) less likely to think to report it as not working on iOS 7 specifically. I'm sure in both cases there are exceptions, but it's surely not the majority. Agreed, the 1-star reviews are unfortunate. That's exactly what I was talking about as well. I just don't think it's a big enough problem to justify removing the ability for people to post useful information regarding compatibility with an OS version that exists in the field in significant numbers.
  - aetch 13y ago
    For your first expectation, (a), ignorant users are EXACTLY the type of users who are running the iOS beta and (b) more likely the rate the app 1 star considering that they had the ask a developer friend to download the beta for them or get a cracked beta. This is definitely the majority in the case of these 1 star reviews. Although yes, I do not see these reviews causing a huge impact as of yet.
wahnfrieden 13y ago
It qualifies as a negative review because it's almost always accompanied with 1 star. 1 star reviews matter in the AppStore.
- deong 13y ago
  That's what I was talking about in the last paragraph. It's definitely unfortunate, but I stand by my statement. If it's one or two people, then it doesn't affect you that much and certainly isn't worth Apple limiting users ability to comment. If the number is large enough to be significant, then you should fix the bug that is causing a large fraction of your user-base to feel the need to rate you poorly. I'm sure there are bugs in the beta or bugs in your code that really need the new SDK to fix, but I suspect that the vast majority could be fixed or worked around without too much trouble. Maybe your grand iOS 7 redesign is going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you can likely bodge a fix together in the meantime.
  - jbri 13y ago
    You think all developers should have already updated their apps to work with the latest iOS beta release, quite literally the day they (and all the non-tech-savvy people who have been conditioned by Gmail et al. to think of "Beta" as "Latest and greatest") get their hands on that version of the OS for the first time?
    - deong 13y ago
      No, but nor do I think that people are getting slammed with one-star reviews the day that the first beta goes out. I can think of a few niche reasons why you would wait until iOS 7 is released before you release a fixed version of your app, but for the vast majority of people, I think they ought to be working on getting a version that runs within a few weeks of seeing a beta OS version that crashes their app.
      - aetch 13y ago
        The beta OS has many bugs that exist in the OS itself. Considering that OS goes through multiple betas before release and numerous bugs are fixed each time, it's short-sighted to try to fix your app to work perfectly on every beta release. Just imagine if we had all fixed our apps for iOS 7 beta 1 - oh the fun! Also, while adding a catchall preventing beta OSes from reviewing is good, I have seen other posts advocating mentioning the iOS 7 is no compatible in the description of the app. This is worst advice ever. Those who are not developers who are using the beta cannot be reasoned with and it is their own fault for having an unstable OS. Mentioning iOS 7 will further annoy them [that the app doesn't work on iOS 7] and confuse legitimate users about the availability of iOS 7.

by deong 13y ago

jads 13y ago

The problem isn't so much that people are complaining it doesn't work with iOS 7, it's that those reviews are usually accompanied by a low star rating or, in some cases, harsh criticism based upon the user's ignorance. I don't mean ignorant in a harsh or derogatory way, I mean it literally - the user doesn't know why and assumes that because the app is the thing that is crashing, it must be the app.

deong 13y ago
I would expect that sort of user to (a) probably not be running an iOS beta, and (b) less likely to think to report it as not working on iOS 7 specifically. I'm sure in both cases there are exceptions, but it's surely not the majority. Agreed, the 1-star reviews are unfortunate. That's exactly what I was talking about as well. I just don't think it's a big enough problem to justify removing the ability for people to post useful information regarding compatibility with an OS version that exists in the field in significant numbers.
- aetch 13y ago
  For your first expectation, (a), ignorant users are EXACTLY the type of users who are running the iOS beta and (b) more likely the rate the app 1 star considering that they had the ask a developer friend to download the beta for them or get a cracked beta. This is definitely the majority in the case of these 1 star reviews. Although yes, I do not see these reviews causing a huge impact as of yet.

wahnfrieden 13y ago

It qualifies as a negative review because it's almost always accompanied with 1 star. 1 star reviews matter in the AppStore.

deong 13y ago
That's what I was talking about in the last paragraph. It's definitely unfortunate, but I stand by my statement. If it's one or two people, then it doesn't affect you that much and certainly isn't worth Apple limiting users ability to comment. If the number is large enough to be significant, then you should fix the bug that is causing a large fraction of your user-base to feel the need to rate you poorly. I'm sure there are bugs in the beta or bugs in your code that really need the new SDK to fix, but I suspect that the vast majority could be fixed or worked around without too much trouble. Maybe your grand iOS 7 redesign is going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you can likely bodge a fix together in the meantime.
- jbri 13y ago
  You think all developers should have already updated their apps to work with the latest iOS beta release, quite literally the day they (and all the non-tech-savvy people who have been conditioned by Gmail et al. to think of "Beta" as "Latest and greatest") get their hands on that version of the OS for the first time?
  - deong 13y ago
    No, but nor do I think that people are getting slammed with one-star reviews the day that the first beta goes out. I can think of a few niche reasons why you would wait until iOS 7 is released before you release a fixed version of your app, but for the vast majority of people, I think they ought to be working on getting a version that runs within a few weeks of seeing a beta OS version that crashes their app.
    - aetch 13y ago
      The beta OS has many bugs that exist in the OS itself. Considering that OS goes through multiple betas before release and numerous bugs are fixed each time, it's short-sighted to try to fix your app to work perfectly on every beta release. Just imagine if we had all fixed our apps for iOS 7 beta 1 - oh the fun! Also, while adding a catchall preventing beta OSes from reviewing is good, I have seen other posts advocating mentioning the iOS 7 is no compatible in the description of the app. This is worst advice ever. Those who are not developers who are using the beta cannot be reasoned with and it is their own fault for having an unstable OS. Mentioning iOS 7 will further annoy them [that the app doesn't work on iOS 7] and confuse legitimate users about the availability of iOS 7.