Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#191

Post by wvenable » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:09 PM UTC

soylentcola wrote: post #183

cybrox wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I technically agree with this, it is absolute nonsense from a user point of view. As the provider of an important host system, you might want to consider allowing people to list supported platforms in order to make it possible for the user to see which apps he can use with the equipment he has. It might be right from an objective point of view but it's a plain out dick-ish behaviour towards user friendly app ma…

Yep. If I was an iPhone user and just bought a Pebble, I'd go to the App Store and search for "Pebble" to see what apps I could buy that work with my Pebble. It's the same thing I did when I got a Moto 360. I went to the Play Store and searched for "Android Wear" to find apps that make use of it. If I'd gotten a Pebble, I would've done the same thing. It sucks for the developers of iOS apps that are meant to integrat…

Some apps have Pebble in the title, like PebbleCam, which is for controlling the iPhone's camera from the Pebble.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#192

Post by fredley » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:13 PM UTC

The Runkeeper app explicitly mentions Pebble Support, and was released on the 20th of April.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/runkeeper-gps-running-walk/i...

I'm going to wait a little before passing judgement on this. Could just be a bad review/er.

I do feel sorry for these devs though, running to 'the press' is something Apple passive-aggressively warns you not to do. Their future app-approval life could be quite unpleasant after this.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#193

Post by mrsteveman1 » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:16 PM UTC

There used to be a client-side check for forbidden words or phrases in iTunes Connect while developers are entering that metadata (it may still be there I haven't checked lately), and they weren't all "swear words" or things you would expect to be automatically forbidden.

For example, I recall the system preventing me from even saving the description during an update for Mi-Fi Monitor until I removed "AT&T" from the text, and that was back during AT&T's exclusivity period for the iPhone so I connected the dots and just removed it (which luckily didn't matter all that much).

If there really is going to be a policy that apps may not mention Pebble or other similar devices in their descriptions, perhaps it'll show up in that automatic check soon (then again, imagine a blanket ban on the word "pebble", it's not just a smartwatch :)

It would appear in this case that the SeaNav app is also involved in the MFI program (presumably to communicate with the Pebble directly and in ways that normal apps couldn't? I've never dealt with MFI as a developer). It strikes me as rather odd that if both the Pebble itself and this app are part of the MFI program, that Apple would wait until a normal app update was submitted by the SeaNav developer before notifying the developer of this change.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#194

Post by k-mcgrady » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:17 PM UTC

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #131

k-mcgrady wrote: post #32

Total BS title. They are rejecting apps that mention other products in the metadata. If you submit an app that says 'also available on Android' the same thing will happen and it has been enforced for years. The rejection was very clear.

This is incorrect. They are rejecting apps that mention other mobile platforms. Pebble is not a mobile platform, it's a smart watch platform. Them reclassifying it seems awfully timely. This makes the user experience of pebble watch owners worse as they won't be able to search for applications that support Pebble anymore; they'll have to find them elsewhere. Not being able to discover applications in an app store is…

>> "Pebble is not a mobile platform, it's a smart watch platform."

Aren't smart watches a type of mobile platform?

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#195

Post by blumkvist » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:19 PM UTC

random28345 wrote: post #181

blumkvist wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowhere near...

> Nowhere near... You're right, Apple is significantly worse. Microsoft went out of it's way to make sure that competitors applications didn't work (DOS isn't done until Lotus 123 won't run). This sparked a development arms race wasting hundreds of hours of development time working around intentional compatibility bugs. On the other hand, Apple sometimes just doesn't let your software run at all. No matter what. Beca…

It's about market share and global impact.

It might sound like double standard to you, but denying your awesome new airbnb for dogs app is not quite the same as denying Java.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#196

Post by lnanek2 » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:23 PM UTC

zak_mc_kracken wrote: post #52

A good reminder of what it would be like if we lived in a world where there is no Android and iOS is a monopoly. Apple's anti competitive behavior puts Microsoft of the 90s to shame.

Google actually just stated they moved to in person reviews, so expect Android to get just as bad.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#197

Post by callesgg » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:23 PM UTC

mapgrep wrote: post #59

toxican wrote: post #2

I think I want to see more information before I grab my pitchfork. From the replies, > are you sure you're a developer? because this has been part of iOS submission guidelines for 4 years. (developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#metadata) I mean I really wouldn't put it past Apple to start enforcing this more aggressively because of the iWatch, but a forum post by some dev is hardly proof that Apple is inte…

The problem appears to be that Apple has reclassified smart watches as a "mobile platform" whereas they did not before. So suddenly having an app so much as mention a smart watch brand is tantamount to mentioning, say, Android. The guidelines state "3.1 - Apps or metadata that mentions [sic] the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected." The poster states the app was approved previously just fine: "SeaNav U…

Actually, I cant see any place in the description that mentions that the Fitbit device is some sort of device.

Their description is extremely vague.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#198

Post by pbreit » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:24 PM UTC

fluidcruft wrote: post #169

mey wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Under US law, it would be anti-competitive to use market control to stifle competition. I agree on your point about android, but you should be able to see what the software supports. Of course a court would need to decide, IANAL etc

I disagree about Android. It's helpful to know whether some particular app you're purchasing is going to lock you into one platform or the other. Why should you have to leave the app store to investigate? What's the point of suppressing interoperability? Companies should be rewarded for interop efforts, not punished for it.

Nah. The pebble complements an iPhone whereas android replaces.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#199

Post by tveita » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:25 PM UTC

vinceguidry wrote: post #140

tveita wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's pretty clear Apple expects you to not add support at all, since you can't advertise it anywhere users will see it anyway. It is a tool for controlling the behavior of both users and developers by using their control of an unrelated platform.

Nah, looks to me like they're just controlling what they're allowing others to display directly on their platform. You can still support Pebble, you can still advertise that you support Pebble, you just have to advertise that on a different platform than Apple's. Sounds reasonable, if a bit inconvenient.

Assuming the rules were consistently enforced:

Users find apps for their iPhone on the App Store. There are no other app stores for the iPhone. Users do not visit an app's web page before they install it.

Users will not find anything when they search the app store for e.g. "navigation app with pebble support". Users will not see Pebble support listed as a feature when they compare two apps.

Developers know from the above that they won't gain any appreciable number of users by adding Pebble support.

In that light I don't see much difference between banning mentioning a feature and banning the feature itself.

Re: Apple now rejecting apps with Pebble Smartwatch support

#200

Post by kbenson » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:26 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #148

rrss1122 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It seems like Apple is doing that as a way to kill competition and promote their own watch, which is fair from a business standpoint." It's nowhere near fair. It's extremely anticompetitive. This is the kind of behavior that gets a company in trouble with the FTC.

[deleted]

What, now we're supposed to give a pass to people and companies that behave horribly and/or illegally just because they have a better product?