If only Apple cared this much about obvious clone or scam apps.
Apple failed in it’s promise to justify gatekeeping iOS. It’s past time for them to offer side loading and alternate app stores. Maybe with some real competition they will do something really meaningful to make the iOS app store useful?
I'm a longtime developer, and this is nothing new. It's been going on for years. If you don't update your app for several years, Apple pulls them, with 30 days warning. It may seem harsh to some, but it's fair. Users don't want to slog through ancient apps in the App Store that don't run on current devices. Aspect ratios change, APIs come and go, notches or none. If you can't update your apps to the latest devices, it only gets harder waiting another year. This is a difference between Apple platforms and Windows. Windows tries to keep 30-year-old software working on the latest OS; Apple says nope. Works for active developers, not great for lazy ones.
People are not loosing access to apps they have downloaded even if these apps are removed. These apps haven’t been updated in two years! This means the privacy notice is not on the App Store of what the app will do with our private data. Further the app isn’t following current guidelines, privacy and we don’t know about security. Old code can have bad bugs and isn’t optimized for newer devices. Yes it can be a pain to update the apps, but it is also a pain for users who download nonfunctional apps.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
Agreed, but it's still the developer's own doing - they chose the framework, never updated, etc. This was my point - their choice(s) made it not a simple recompile.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
Agreed, but it's still the developer's own doing - they chose the framework, never updated, etc. This was my point - their choice(s) made it not a simple recompile.
Their choices combined with Apple’s arbitrary requirements.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
Agreed, but it's still the developer's own doing - they chose the framework, never updated, etc. This was my point - their choice(s) made it not a simple recompile.
Their choices combined with Apple’s arbitrary requirements.
Apple has historically given a long lead time for devs to comply with "arbitrary" requirements, often years lead time and a lot of those devs do nothing but whine at deadline times.
As the article, post #4, and post #16 stated, this is not about an "artbitrary" or "capricious" update or a requirement to update something because of no updates for X number of years.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
Agreed, but it's still the developer's own doing - they chose the framework, never updated, etc. This was my point - their choice(s) made it not a simple recompile.
Their choices combined with Apple’s arbitrary requirements.
Apple has historically given a long lead time for devs to comply with "arbitrary" requirements, often years lead time and a lot of those devs do nothing but whine at deadline times.
As the article, post #4, and post #16 stated, this is not about an "artbitrary" or "capricious" update or a requirement to update something because of no updates for X number of years.
They’ve historically given years and yet this time they’ve given 90 (initially 30) days.
How hard is it to recompile an app? Especially one so old it’s about to get removed any way? If it’s that out of date and you as the developer are not willing to update it, then I’m not willing to use it.
So Unity is the problem. Developer's problem - don't use Unity!
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
Sure, but that still makes it a much bigger problem than a simple recompile. Developers can’t just not use Unity for an app that’s already shipped.
Agreed, but it's still the developer's own doing - they chose the framework, never updated, etc. This was my point - their choice(s) made it not a simple recompile.
Their choices combined with Apple’s arbitrary requirements.
Apple has historically given a long lead time for devs to comply with "arbitrary" requirements, often years lead time and a lot of those devs do nothing but whine at deadline times.
As the article, post #4, and post #16 stated, this is not about an "artbitrary" or "capricious" update or a requirement to update something because of no updates for X number of years.
They’ve historically given years and yet this time they’ve given 90 (initially 30) days.
It's not all as sinister as the media made it originally sound (and Apple should have been more clear up front, but this process is not new). Basic takeaway, from the clarification above, in case too many people won't follow/read the link:
As part of the App Store Improvements process, developers of apps that have not been updated within the last three years and fail to meet a minimal download threshold — meaning the app has not been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period — receive an email notifying them that their app has been identified for possible removal from the App Store.
Apple always wants to help developers get and keep quality software on the App Store. That’s why developers can appeal app removals. And developers, including those who recently received a notice, will now be given more time to update their apps if needed — up to 90 days. Apps that are removed will continue to function as normal for users who have already downloaded the app on their device.
Comments
Apple failed in it’s promise to justify gatekeeping iOS. It’s past time for them to offer side loading and alternate app stores. Maybe with some real competition they will do something really meaningful to make the iOS app store useful?
That is a problem with TOO many apps - they use 3rd party frameworks that don't follow Apple developer guidelines, don't update quick enough, or don't provide forward compatibility. 3rd part framework is the problem with the Tweet you quoted.
As the article, post #4, and post #16 stated, this is not about an "artbitrary" or "capricious" update or a requirement to update something because of no updates for X number of years.
Clarifying criteria & new timing extension for App Store Improvements process
It's not all as sinister as the media made it originally sound (and Apple should have been more clear up front, but this process is not new). Basic takeaway, from the clarification above, in case too many people won't follow/read the link:As part of the App Store Improvements process, developers of apps that have not been updated within the last three years and fail to meet a minimal download threshold — meaning the app has not been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period — receive an email notifying them that their app has been identified for possible removal from the App Store.
Apple always wants to help developers get and keep quality software on the App Store. That’s why developers can appeal app removals. And developers, including those who recently received a notice, will now be given more time to update their apps if needed — up to 90 days. Apps that are removed will continue to function as normal for users who have already downloaded the app on their device.