Skip to Content

App Store approval limbo boxes in Briefs

by Michael Rose Aug 27th 2010 at 3:00PM

There are plenty of hurdles between a good idea and App Store success; even after your killer app hits the virtual shelves, the challenges of discoverability and competitors sandbagging your app with Astroturfed bad reviews add up to plenty of headaches. Still, once past the biggest stumbling block -- Apple giving a thumbs up or thumbs down -- things should get easier, right?

Unfortunately, some intriguing apps end up in approval limbo, the stranded state between all-clear and no-thanks that's reserved for some of the most innovative and paradigm-busting apps; the apps that make Apple go "Hmm..." and force the app approval team to exercise the pocket veto. Without a clear rejection (telling the dev what can be fixed), there's nothing to do but wait.

The most high-profile limbo case is Google Voice, which as far as we know is still being reviewed by Apple's team more than a year after it was submitted. The latest is Briefs, a well-regarded app prototyping tool which may be running afoul of the no-interpreted-code ban in section 3.3.2 of Apple's developer agreement, despite the assertion that Briefs doesn't work in a way that's forbidden by Apple's rules. Even though developer Rob Rhyne made a cogent case to Apple's team on the merits, and even with some high-level support from contacts made at WWDC, Briefs remains unapproved and unrejected.

Rather than wait indefinitely with his 1.0 growing stale, Rhyne has decided to offer the existing version as open source, which iPhone developers can compile and install on their testing devices. Rob's colleague Jeff Lamarche at Martian Craft voices his frustration here.

In many ways, this could be an App Store success story: developer dedication and innovation, open lines of communication between indies and Apple, an open source tool that can improve app development for scores of coders. The only problem is that darned silent treatment, and the missing timeline for escalation. If an app can't make it on the store, it seems the least Apple ought to do is say so and say why.



View Tags

Related Stories

Categories

Developer App Store

There are plenty of hurdles between a good idea and App Store success; even after your killer app hits the virtual shelves, the challenges...
 

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

12 Comments

Filter by:
mrick

I have to say that Apple's restrictive dev agreement doesn't seem right or fair to me.

August 27 2010 at 7:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Will

The point of conflict is not that he's using an Apple API to load the data, it's that he is NOT using an Apple Interpreter to evaluate the data. If he wanted to make this work, he should convert the properties list in to HTML and JS and evaluate them in a WebView, which has the only Apple approved interpreter on the system.

August 27 2010 at 5:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gordon

Rob showed me Briefs in a Starbucks over a year ago shortly after he had started fleshing out the idea. Its a shame that such a great concept, and even better icon, hasn't yet found its way to iPhones everywhere. Hopefully the rest of the dev community can get as much use out of it now as Apple's in house developers!

August 27 2010 at 4:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buzz

In some future court battle, Apple Apps may be deemed a form of "free speech" and Apple may lose its often capricious control over accepting/rejecting them.

It would be wise for them to have megatons of arguments at the ready to defend their obviously censorial current activities as being in the public and not strictly private interests.

iPhones and iPads are quickly becoming "common carriers," as opposed to "contract carriers."

August 27 2010 at 3:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
don

This is a real shame. Briefs is a great tool, and Rob should be rewarded for his innovation, but instead he's had 3 months of limbo.

August 27 2010 at 3:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to don's comment
SubGenius

My guess is that it is in limbo not because Apple has a legitimate objection. Apple probably has already started developing a similar app.

August 27 2010 at 11:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave Wood

I installed this app today from the git repo. There (seems to be) a serious usability issue with it, and Apple shouldn't approve it. Shouldn't be in limbo either though.

When you launch a 'Brief', there's no way (that I found) to exit that brief and go back to the menu to launch another. Even closing the app doesn't work, you have to kill the app and start over.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Otherwise, the app does look good, and I feel for the developer, no feedback from Apple over that stretch of time is unfair.

August 27 2010 at 3:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Dave Wood's comment
Rob Rhyne

@Dave,

When running a brief, tap-hold on the screen for about a second. A menu should appear that will let you exit the running brief.

It's the first question answered in the FAQ at the bottom of this page: http://giveabrief.com/docs/

August 27 2010 at 5:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave Wood

Sweet. Thanks. Don't know how I missed that.

August 27 2010 at 5:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Justin

Am I the only one here amused by the use of the phrase "boxes in briefs" in the headline? Kind of like boxers or... oh nevermind. =)

August 27 2010 at 3:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Justin's comment
Simplicated

Interestingly, I thought of the same...


Anyway, Apple’s approval system has been known for its inconsistency and unfairness. Not so long ago ReadItLater had the app update rejected because of requiring users to login before using it. Then the developers behind it decided to resubmit the app and BAM it's in the store.

Apple ought to add some transparency to its approval system - At least telling why an app is rejected (or neither rejected nor posted), just like what the author said.

August 27 2010 at 3:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael Rose

Headline pun was intentional. Thanks for noticing!

August 27 2010 at 3:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buy an ad here

Hot Apps on TUAW

Tweets

© 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.