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We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

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Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#101

Post by bad_user »

I wonder - when an app rejection with a good idea happens based on it being "too simple" (and many great ideas are simple to implement), what if competition picks up the idea, adds more bloat, gets approved and steals the original's thunder, shouldn't Apple be held responsible and pay for damages?

There's probably no chance of that happening, because it's their app store, they can do whatever they want and so on. But this kind of deal is exactly why some companies feel like protecting their "intellectual property" with patents. Because the distribution networks are not open, except for the web and even if your execution is perfect, there's no guarantee you'll be the first to market, because shit like this happens. And then we've got people praising app stores, because their grandma can now feel safe, though to me optimizing for grandmas doesn't make much sense.

I view the app store model as a regression. It is useful, but only when it's optional. Android is still allowing installs from third-party sources, even though you have to click a checkbox to enable the capability, but due to current trends and seeing Android's evolution, I don't have many hopes for this feature surviving in the long run. In the end, the web is still the most open distribution platform and these big companies are trying to fix that.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#102

Post by wsc981 »

phaus wrote: post #87
socmoth wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually did this policy to get one of my apps in the store. As more people eventually use it (and presumably good reviews roll in), I anticipate that I will be able to remove the features which I didn't think were needed. On the other hand, I really don't like the idea of apple having editorial review over apps for being too simple. The only app which I feel might be too simple is an additional fart or flashlight…

>I anticipate that I will be able to remove the features which I didn't think were needed. This is a really bad idea. While you might think that its impossible, some of your users are going to absolutely love the useless functionality that you added to appease Apple. When you remove it, you are going to receive an influx of 1-star reviews.

You could set the release data of the app like 2 weeks in the future and have some sort of webservice that you use to enable or disable app features. You could disable the bogus features after the app has passed Apple's review, but before the app is visible to end-users.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#103

Post by fauigerzigerk »

crazygringo wrote: post #48

First of all, that sounds like a really cool idea for an app. I want it. But secondly, of all the app rejection stories I've ever heard... this one is the easiest to fix. Just add some more features, who cares, and resubmit it. Ideas: annotate/categorize the things that are making you happy/unhappy. Maybe have categories/icons for them. (Friends, party, loneliness, exercise, ate well, ate bad, had sex, no sex, fought…

So the answer is feature bloat.

Here's another idea: Let's build a compiler that automatically adds features to apps that appear too simple.

The compiler should be able to learn from descriptions of existing apps what kinds of things are currently fashionable and find an unobtrusive way to integrate them into your app.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#104

Post by tonyhb »

Steko wrote: post #77
ekianjo wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And going "nuclear" on Android because they felt that their iOS was soooo original it should be protected by all patents, trademarks and laws in place. Apple is the Disney of IT, seriously.

Presumably they went nuclear on Android because they felt betrayed when a close partner of their came out with a clone of their product, something Apple had a history with that nearly killed it.

iOS 1 was an inevitable jump from Palm OS and the early days of touch screen. The tech had been in demos before, but there was such a lack of UX work beforehand that it never took off. That, and capacitive screens/advancing tech.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#105

Post by soperj »

Meekro wrote: post #79
durbin wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would like to counter this advice by saying that I don't think acquiescing to the whims of walled garden rulers is the best solution. If your vision was to create what you have already created, how could you modify it to a product that you think is worse for your users because its what Apple wants? It pains me just reading suggestions about implementing these tacked on functions.

That's painful, but those users will be even worse off if they can't use the app at all. If the creator's goal is to serve his users, and not his pride, then he'll have to swallow it and play by the rules.

Simple answer is to not service apple until you've built a following on Android. They'll accept an app that is coveted.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#106

Post by psss »

asdfologist wrote: post #19

With all their patent trolling and absurd tyrannical control over the app store, I have no idea why so many tech-saavy people still love Apple.

One of the good illustrations how app stores (itunes, play) limits us: try to find any usable porno app. In contrast with Web where you can find anything you want and nobody cares what are you doing here, in stores we are hardly limitated to "morally acceptable" apps. It looks like digital Pakistan.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#108

Post by jakobe »

allworknoplay wrote: post #7

It's a common enough rejection; I've gotten it before and know other people who have too. You can respond to them and clarify why this set of functionality is right, that it's a new app and will have features added in the future, etc. Worked for me, anyway.

Yes. I had an app rejected for the same reason. Just appeal, and explain your position.

In my case, I made a viewer for Microsoft Access databases. Apple kept complaining that there was no way to create databases on the phone. After a few back and forths someone realised that a viewer doesn't need to create files, and the app was accepted.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#109

Post by sspiff »

asdfologist wrote: post #19

With all their patent trolling and absurd tyrannical control over the app store, I have no idea why so many tech-saavy people still love Apple.

I was a fan of Apple products (in the late PowerPC days), but eventually gave up on them after countless of small roadblocks caused by their business practices. I told myself I'd never vote for them with my wallet again.

On of the issues I remember at the time was their refusal to have Sun releasing JVM updates for Apple's platform, while simultaneously not keeping it up to date themselves. As a CS student with a curriculum using Java as a teaching platform, that's pretty annoying.

Re: We made something. We use it. We love it. Apple rejected it

#110

Post by sspiff »

crazygringo wrote: post #48

First of all, that sounds like a really cool idea for an app. I want it. But secondly, of all the app rejection stories I've ever heard... this one is the easiest to fix. Just add some more features, who cares, and resubmit it. Ideas: annotate/categorize the things that are making you happy/unhappy. Maybe have categories/icons for them. (Friends, party, loneliness, exercise, ate well, ate bad, had sex, no sex, fought…

Rating your happiness from 1 to 10 would make it easy for the scale to drift. How do you compare how you felt today to how you felt 8 months back, the last time you issued a 10?

I think comparing with yesterday is a great way to do this: I still know exactly how I felt yesterday, and I know how I feel today.

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