Tangram, quizzes, games (shoot 'em ups etc) travel apps, diet & health apps etc etc. Be prepared. The Storm is coming…
I don’t think I have had an original thought in my life. All my apps are just derivative work that being said, I do try fairly hard to make them unique. So far I have not been rejected (2 of these apps got approved yesterday).
I don’t understand the post. It’s about this right?
4.3 Spam
Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase. Also avoid piling on to a category that is already saturated; the App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps already. Spamming the store may lead to your removal from the Developer Program.
This seems like it is meant to keep people form submitting basically the same app over and over but with new bundle ids, simply tweaking a small set of features.
Sound perfectly reasonable to me.
I did read some of those links and i have to agree w/ the individual ‘ZeldaLink’ here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/85411
Not being one who usually releases variants of the same app I may never encounter this. However if others have or do I’d like to hear about it and see details about their apps.
Hi,
I’ve been reading a lot of different threads around the web about this. While I do agree about cutting down on spam apps, etc. There is a particular situation that I find concerning for developers.
If a developers business is built around providing applications for a certain target market, like hairdressers for instance, Apple is basically demanding that they are all housed in a single container app and served through IAPs. This of course kills any type of brand awareness for a hairdresser business (or any small business for that matter) and is likely to put a number of small independent developers out of business.
The other aspect is the requirement for each “brand/business” to have its own developer account, which can be a difficult sell for a client who would like nothing to do with that aspect. Though not insurmountable, it could be a show stopper for some. And even after some developers have tried this approach, their apps are still being rejected due to functionality that is too similar between apps because they target a specific market.
In addition, template developers and “build-an-app” services are also going to be affected.
It certainly seems like a difficult situation, and I can’t help but think that someone was asleep at the wheel when thinking up this new rule. If I was being cheeky, I would imagine there eventually being only one match-3 game available, or a container app with thousands of them.
-dev
It’s a very scary scenario for indies, and I posted about this back in the Summer.
Even if you have a brand new game, coded from scratch, from the ground up, they will reject it if the game looks similar to any other theme you have published on the Appstore.
You can have a few different themes, but if anything looks remotely similar, they want it combined.
I suggested they give us a tool inside iTunes connect. Allow the developer to add the + option for “Container App” and place the various apps inside of that, so the container only gets displayed on the store.
Hopefully they give devs an easier tool to manage these, but it’s killing the white label app business.
I don’t think I have had an original thought in my life. All my apps are just derivative work that being said, I do try fairly hard to make them unique. So far I have not been rejected (2 of these apps got approved yesterday).
I don’t understand the post. It’s about this right?
4.3 Spam
Don’t create multiple Bundle IDs of the same app. If your app has different versions for specific locations, sports teams, universities, etc., consider submitting a single app and provide the variations using in-app purchase. Also avoid piling on to a category that is already saturated; the App Store has enough fart, burp, flashlight, and Kama Sutra apps already. Spamming the store may lead to your removal from the Developer Program.
This seems like it is meant to keep people form submitting basically the same app over and over but with new bundle ids, simply tweaking a small set of features.
Sound perfectly reasonable to me.
I did read some of those links and i have to agree w/ the individual ‘ZeldaLink’ here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/85411
Not being one who usually releases variants of the same app I may never encounter this. However if others have or do I’d like to hear about it and see details about their apps.
Hi,
I’ve been reading a lot of different threads around the web about this. While I do agree about cutting down on spam apps, etc. There is a particular situation that I find concerning for developers.
If a developers business is built around providing applications for a certain target market, like hairdressers for instance, Apple is basically demanding that they are all housed in a single container app and served through IAPs. This of course kills any type of brand awareness for a hairdresser business (or any small business for that matter) and is likely to put a number of small independent developers out of business.
The other aspect is the requirement for each “brand/business” to have its own developer account, which can be a difficult sell for a client who would like nothing to do with that aspect. Though not insurmountable, it could be a show stopper for some. And even after some developers have tried this approach, their apps are still being rejected due to functionality that is too similar between apps because they target a specific market.
In addition, template developers and “build-an-app” services are also going to be affected.
It certainly seems like a difficult situation, and I can’t help but think that someone was asleep at the wheel when thinking up this new rule. If I was being cheeky, I would imagine there eventually being only one match-3 game available, or a container app with thousands of them.
-dev
It’s a very scary scenario for indies, and I posted about this back in the Summer.
Even if you have a brand new game, coded from scratch, from the ground up, they will reject it if the game looks similar to any other theme you have published on the Appstore.
You can have a few different themes, but if anything looks remotely similar, they want it combined.
I suggested they give us a tool inside iTunes connect. Allow the developer to add the + option for “Container App” and place the various apps inside of that, so the container only gets displayed on the store.
Hopefully they give devs an easier tool to manage these, but it’s killing the white label app business.
4.3 is an extremely frustrating guideline. Firstly, Apple is selective at applying this rule. Secondly, if you’ve been flagged, the App Review team gives no way to report competitors.
I think we should all be extremely careful with this rule and try to do our best not to get flagged. Some strategies may include:
- Avoid making super-minor updates. They increase your chance of getting flagged;
- Do your best to make your apps as different as possible;
- If you have some apps which are not bringing any serious revenue, better remove them from sale on your own.
It seems that if you do get flagged once, you’ll be scrutinised ever since. Better avoid it at all possible costs.
@werden - yes indeed! 