Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

notes.alinpanaitiu.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 364 posts

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#121

Post by xwdv »

cowtools wrote: post #47
nate wrote: post #15

Ran into the exact same problem with a very simple camera app I made. Camera app was completely gesture based. So you never had to find a button to quickly flip the camera to the other side of the phone or find the button to start/stop recording. It made using a camera a lot quicker to get multiple shots of a scene and your reaction shot. Also added in stabilization to the front lens, which was easy but wasn't enable…

>Ran into the exact same problem with a very simple camera app I made. >[...] >(Just by posting this, now I fear I broke some kind of TOS, and can never publish an iOS app again?) This is how your loyalty to Apple's racket is rewarded. This is your prize for buying hundreds of dollars of their equipment and paying hundreds to license their development kit and get your software reviewed for their locked-down phones.

Poor software developers, how could they ever afford to overcome these massive barriers to entry. Every. Year.

If only they had a decent source of steady income.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#122

Post by yazzku »

SturgeonsLaw wrote: post #90
yazzku wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, though thankfully we have the alternatives.

Which is why Microsoft's attempts to make UEFI their own little fiefdom need to be resisted. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/security-measure-forces-wi... Even aside from the most egregious cases like that linked above, operating systems like Linux need their bootloader signed by Microsoft in order to boot on a Secure Boot enabled PC. The conflict of interest is obvious.

Yeah, TPM 2.0 is a real ass. Looks like classic anti-competitive lawsuit to me, has any org pursued this?

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#123

Post by cercatrova »

wswope wrote: post #10

Apple, by walling their garden, have essentially used their hegemony to steal billions of dollars in potential revenue from developers. Think of how much innovation has been blocked by them intentionally gimping iOS Safari to prevent web apps from competing with native ones. Remember this when reviewing job applications, folks. Apple, Google, and Facebook employees, current and former, are morally derelict and have p…

I agree with your first paragraph. However, I can't agree with your second. Most people who work there are just regular people, they are not "morally derelict" sociopaths. Indeed, the main reason they work there is money and prestige, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Blame the executives who make the decisions, not the workers who implement them.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#125

Post by Pulcinella »

The weird thing is I wouldn’t even consider this to be “too simple.” There are far, far more simple apps on the App Store. This is basically just a conference app, which arent usually much more complex than this and are basically just a (usually very ugly) wrapper for a website. At least this is trying to fit in with the visual style of the platform.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#126

Post by bombcar »

fzfaa wrote: post #28
nate wrote: post #15

Ran into the exact same problem with a very simple camera app I made. Camera app was completely gesture based. So you never had to find a button to quickly flip the camera to the other side of the phone or find the button to start/stop recording. It made using a camera a lot quicker to get multiple shots of a scene and your reaction shot. Also added in stabilization to the front lens, which was easy but wasn't enable…

Create an app with complex filters and social shit and make the app hit an HTTP endpoint to see if they should be enabled on startup. Once the app is accepted into the store, hide the stupid features remotely. :-)

Or just make an app with a bunch of weird filters and shit, and an option in the settings to turn it to a simple app.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#127

Post by guiambros »

skrtskrt wrote: post #91
jaywalk wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no love for Apple's walled-garden, and I absolutely appreciate 69 jokes, but this app is stupid.

the first apps I remember on iOS were a beer glass that poured out beer when you tipped the phone, and a lightsaber app that made sheeewwwww sounds when you swung the phone around. We loved them It's ok to make stupid apps as long as you're not scamming. The oh-so-serious nature of the current online experience sucks

> ...a beer glass that poured out beer when you tipped the phone, and a lightsaber app...

Oh I remember those two. I think they were installed via Cydia[1] no? Or maybe it was right after, when the official AppStore was launched. Silly, but great wow factor in those early days.

[1] for the youngsters here: Cydia was the only way to install apps in your iPhone before the AppStore was created (circa 2008). You had to jailbreak your phone, install Cydia, and then we had a handful of apps that demonstrated iPhone's capabilities.

I remember my first app was some marble labyrinth game, that served as a fantastic demonstration of iPhone's accelerometers. Pretty surreal at the time.

Saurik, Cydia's main developer, is frequently seen around on HN threads.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#128

Post by drekipus »

mikeyouse wrote: post #96
DiggyJohnson wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t see how that wouldn’t make sense… It’s not that they decided to set an arbitrary threshold of 3.7M apps, but that they have become more stringent on app approvals in light of the growth and quantity of apps in their store. I don’t think GP’s comment requires an incredulous snarky response, despite me not doing a great job making this point…

FWIW, I completely got your point. The Android ecosystem is horrible for this kind of thing. There are roughly 200,000 varieties of calculator apps. Why? There should be some criteria to help consumers avoid poorly supported simplistic clones that are often just filled with adware.

Is there?

If 200,000 calculator apps all fulfill your need, what is the problem? Just use one, and if it doesn't, use another. Use the stock one if you want, or ask some friends what they use.

I agree rating systems are not an effective measure, and can be gamed, however.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#129

Post by zerocrates »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #52
wswope wrote: post #10

Apple, by walling their garden, have essentially used their hegemony to steal billions of dollars in potential revenue from developers. Think of how much innovation has been blocked by them intentionally gimping iOS Safari to prevent web apps from competing with native ones. Remember this when reviewing job applications, folks. Apple, Google, and Facebook employees, current and former, are morally derelict and have p…

Don't forget that, specifically, Apple has kicked apps off the App Store whilst outright stealing their functionality. They think copyright law should apply to everyone except themselves. Such bravery.

App functionality is generally not covered by copyright. Code yes, some assets/images/etc. sure, look-and-feel maybe, but functionality no.

Re: App Store doesn't accept “too simple” apps

#130

Post by jaywalk »

Apocryphon wrote: post #118
jaywalk wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have fond memories of the beer glass app. I showed it off numerous times after I got my first iPhone In my ideal world, Apple wouldn't have a walled-garden at all. But if they will, then there needs to be a certain bar for apps to meet to be included. And to be clear, there are plenty of existing apps that don't meet such a bar. But Tip 69 definitely doesn't.

Let the users decide. Actually, there's an interesting notion that could exist on both the official App Store, or in a hypothetical non-Apple one: cull apps that have too low usage activity. But give them a fair shake by attracting attention to them, then seeing what users make of them. And when you do remove low-to-nil use apps, don't remove their listings, keep them as archived entries that users can try to vote ba…

If we could have nice things, I absolutely agree.
Post reply on HN