Panic in iOS developer land. iOS developer are up in arms again, because of this:
Also, at Apple’s request, we had to remove the ability to “Send” files to other services, including iCloud Drive.
In short, we’re told that while Transmit iOS can download content from iCloud Drive, we cannot upload content to iCloud Drive unless the content was created in the app itself. Apple says this use would violate 2.23 – “Apps must follow the iOS Data Storage Guidelines or they will be rejected” – but oddly that page says nothing about iCloud Drive or appropriate uses for iCloud Drive.
If you’re an iOS developer and you still get upset over Apple’s App Store policies, there’s only one person to blame, and it isn’t Apple. You knew what you signed up for.
That was my exact thought when I saw this. I’m really tired of iOS app developers bitching and yet not willing to do a damn thing. If you hate it so much then take your app elseware. There are plenty of Android users out there, and maybe you can help give Windows Phone a head start. Apple doesn’t give a damn what you say, so stop saying and start doing. Don’t give them your $99 next year, and walk. If you hate it, prove it.
The problem is the disparity in those who buy apps as compared to those who do when comparing the two platforms. The ROI for iOS is significantly larger than that of Android.
Yeah, it’s easy to say ‘don’t develop for iOS’, when the users of said platform are the ones actually spending money on apps.
Which is precisely what would give the developers power if they had the balls to stand up to Apple. As go the apps, so go the users.
At no point did I say not to develop for iOS, but if they’re that unhappy maybe they should actually do something other than complain like little children. It’s the American way though: make money, then bitch about the boss while not doing anything to actually change the thing you “hate.”
Edited 2014-12-09 01:33 UTC
Do you have numbers to back that up? There are a lot of successful paid apps in Android.
It’s not about the vendor, it’s about the end users.
One of the properties I manage had ~8.5 million hits last week. 40% of those were on iOS. ( And for the record about 60% our visitors our US based, the rest are Europe and Australia ).
That’s why we build iOS first, the AppStore issues don’t even figure into the equation.
Expect to be hit with Manure while in the walled garden.
You pay for an app, then Apple in a bit of whimsy changes the interpretation of the T&C unexpectedly, so the app you bought for that feature stops working with the update (but you don’t get a refund).
The users can only get what the developers are allowed to provide. So the same rule applies, including that Apple might cut off whatever it feels like.
Have any customers been requesting refunds for breaking features?
The _actual_ developper of the Transmit app isn’t up in arms, he/she/they just blogged about the change they needed to make due to some policy that didn’t seem to be written in the way that Apple interpreted.
I didn’t see any outrage, maybe some sighing…
Outrage may be coming from other devs or mostly from comments, as usual.
Instead of bitching about Apple simply having requirements and restrictions and how “evil” that is, how about a discussion on what this particular instance is all about, which is not allowing an application to upload something to iCloud that that application itself did not create? To me that is quite sensible and lowers the risk of some form of malware that was not created by the app sneaking in and being sent to iCloud along with data from the app and possibly infecting other data and documents that are being stored in iCloud. Am I wrong in this?
You see, Apple has reasons for these restrictions they place on what apps can and cannot do. Some of those restrictions may be reasonable to some developers and unreasonable to others, and they are free leave and develop for Android or Windows Phone if they so choose, no one is forcing them to develop for Apple or anyone else. When you sign up for Apple’s developer program, the rules are laid out, either accept them or move on. Google probably places little to no restrictions on what data can be uploaded and their users are required to accept the risks that opens up. Where is the outrage about that? Microsoft possibly has restrictions on what their apps can do, so where is the outrage for them? Again, it seems that Thom’s bias towards Apple shines through.
Wtf? You just agreed with my entire post, yet I am biased and you are not?
I… I have no words.
Is it money? It’s money, isn’t it?
wocowboy,
Sure, it sucks for developers, but you know developers are just a means to an end… Only end users matter, and that’s why I’m so glad that apple steps in and censors these things to remove the features that the evil developers are always trying to sneak in.
I’m outraged all right, how dare google allowed embarrassing photos of celebs to be uploaded to the cloud where they got leaked to the public! At least I know that I’m safe because this would have never happened with a restricted apple device…
Good save, this doesn’t look like a deflection at all. And it’s a great point to boot, how come microsoft never gets criticized over the restrictions we assume they have?
Some people just don’t get how irrational they are being, it just makes them look like snobs.
If you get an app rejection, you out an appeal to the App Review board. The initial reviews are made by teams of low grade worker who just follow the App Store policy to the letter. The review board have the real power and will grant your app if you can provide a valid use case… It happens all the time, but most developers don’t go crying to the press about it… Though to be fair this does just look like someone’s blog…
Accurate. You get a random reviewer each time, some are more seasoned than others, some have more literal interpretation of the app submission guidelines than others. The appeal system is most useful for exactly that scenario. I got rejected once for a feature that is specifically documented in Apple’s SDK but because of the app submission guidelines, the use of that feature could be interpreted as violating their own rules. After appeal, the app was approved.
…I know iOS developers and this is just long held frustrations that are finally boiling over. I’m glad developers are finally getting some courage to speak up about it and try to get Apple to change it rather than just sit there like lap dogs.
who does not know, Panic (author of Transmit) have very long history with Apple:
https://www.panic.com/extras/audionstory/
they almost become author of still non-existing “iTunes”
and Steve Jobs suggest them not to make specific kind of applications back then…
Edited 2014-12-09 20:45 UTC
Issue fixed, feature back in.
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/12/11/apple-reverses-course-on-transm…
leos,
That’s the power of negative press. It’s unfortunate that it needed to be resolved this way since most developers don’t receive as much media attention for their cause. Still, at least it’s a good outcome for users of Transmit.
Edited 2014-12-11 22:17 UTC