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For those of you who have been there or happen to be familiar with rejections and the approval process, how strict is Apple on the guidelines ? From my internet research Apple seems to be Hitler-like when it comes to making sure people adhere to guidelines.
I cannot say whether I am misreading the clause or not, but it could jeopardize my entire app, as in it defeats the entire point of my app.
But the thing is there are two apps already out there just like what I plan to make. One app is the SAME EXACT thing. This app, which has been released two years ago has been unsuccessful, but from my market research, it is the first one of its kind.
I am making a competitor for that. Although their assortment of features on the app is greater, our core business thrives on what they thrive. Essentially it's the same idea.
So I'm thinking Apple won't reject mine if my competitor hasn't been rejected. Even a second competitor, who happens to be only limited to Australia, has not been rejected. Their core businesses utilizes the same idea and principle.
The clause was from 2010's submission criteria. It goes like "Developers cannot design applications utilized to use phone transactions to purchase physical goods".
So isn't Square a clear violation of this? People can just go to the ice cream man and swipe a credit card in to the vendor's Square hardware.
How serious is Apple on these guidelines? From my understanding they ease up, but only if the idea is novel and hasn't flooded the market. I've done my research and I can tell you at this juncture there are only two apps similar to my creation on the market.
1. Just because something was accepted in the past, doesn't mean it will be now. As the review guidelines say, it's a living document, rules change over time. There are plenty of fart and flashlight apps in the store, but you wont get a new one approved that's for sure.
2. Where did you find "Developers cannot design applications utilized to use phone transactions to purchase physical goods"? Physical goods can't be purchased using IAPs. And in app content can't be purchased using outside methods.
I once had my app rejected because it was "too similar to an app on the store" I appealed the rejection citing how it was different, and the benefits of my app (perhaps I shoudl have done this on the first submition?) and the appeals "board" let it through in a few days. This was a year ago.
I guess what I'm trying to say is they are strict, but also lenient if your app has merit beyond a clone, or fart app ;)
I recently made a calculator app which was rejected because the reviewer said that there are already enough calculator apps on the app store and they don't need another one.
However, when i explained them clearly how my app had different features than other existing ones they approved it on same day.
Though mine is a completely different case because there are 1000s of calculator apps already on the appstore, still, i would say it's always better to have some functionality that isn't there in existing apps.
As there are only 2 apps in your competition, i don't think you should have any problem.
@baya_yu : I was right in my suspicion, I misread the clause. Thanks for clearing that up. But do you have any idea regarding why Apple won't allow IAP for physical goods? I mean I can only see their share of money pie get bigger.
@mediaspree & rahul: Do you guys suggest I clearly mention how unique and different it is during the submission process? Although there are only two visible competitors, I don't want to risk any setback at all as it is a waste of time.
Only thing that comes to mind is that they don't control the delivery of the goods so they don't want to mess with the payment processing. Imagine if a user never received what they purchased. They would have to contact Apple and ask for a refund, then Apple would have to contact the seller to ask why and if the customer never got the purchased product, and more mess from there on. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 ft pole and I imagine Apple doesn't either. And it doesn't look that enticing to sellers either, having to give Apple 30% of the product price, or ask the buyer to pat 30% more to cover that. If it was a TV worth $1000 for example, they would have to give Apple $300 just because they did the payment processing.
After 10 days waiting for a review I had an app rejected and they stated it was because there was a place holder for an iAd and that if no ad was loaded I should hide the placeholder. They also provided a very nice screenshot to emphasize their point. I then challenged the decision by pointing out that the screen shot they were using to show an empty iAd holder was not a iAd holder but actually a cell from a UITableView. Next day app was on the app store, so dont just except them at their word if you think they have made an unfair rejection challenge it.
@mediaspree & rahul: Do you guys suggest I clearly mention how unique and different it is during the submission process? Although there are only two visible competitors, I don't want to risk any setback at all as it is a waste of time.
In my case, i already mentioned the functionalities in the app description. But it seems the reviewer didn't even read that. Coz when i pointed out the same things to the reviewer plus few other things not mentioned in description, the app was approved immediately.
As i said, i don't think you need to worry about other apps. There are just 2 of them so it should get approved easily.
A small tip- Make sure you set the release date considering app rejections in mind. When my app got approved, the release date had already passed. So the app was released at end of the day and was visible on new section for barely a couple of hours. This was a huge mistake on my part. The downloads would have been much better if it had been there for full day. Just thought this might help you in avoiding such mistake.
Thanks for the info guys, it seems to me like they are lenient if you reason with them in case of a rejection.
However, I do have a question about how they will react to dubious marketing and branding on your app page on the iStore.
My app is designed for a college. Naturally, the app will only be used by the students of that college. So should I clearly mention it is only for students of college X?
This app I'm building is a petri-dish experiment. I don't have the resources to implement it in more than one place, so I can only do it for a limited environment. So the market is very small for the time being. Is there anything I have to mention about that? It's a free app so I'm not scamming anyone for their money. It's just that I want the my app's brand to exist without connotations and affiliations in case I cater to other places in the future.
It's not like Apple will ask my why I'm catering to only a certain physical location right? For all they know about me, I could just be an ambition-less dev who could only find a niche market.
@Rahul: Thanks for the heads up! Luckily I won't encounter your problem. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that my customers will come to me for the app, not the other way around. :)
Just yesterday update to one if my app was rejected because I am using google image without google logo on it. Funny thing is Apple didn't reject original app for the same reason. My app showing a bunch if locations of my company and for few of them I don't have any actual photos so I was just using google map screenshot of the locations. Apple didn't noticed if I guess. On my update I just corrected spelling error but this time they pointed out exact same images as being from Google but missing google logo on them. Fair enough I agree. So I ordered actual images of branches to be made to comply with Apple requirements. They polite response with the reason for rejection stated that they can't nail everyone who is missing appropriate copyright logo but they trying hard.
Capricorn
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2. Where did you find "Developers cannot design applications utilized to use phone transactions to purchase physical goods"? Physical goods can't be purchased using IAPs. And in app content can't be purchased using outside methods.
You can read all the "rules" here: https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html Section 11 in particular is about purchasing.
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeI guess what I'm trying to say is they are strict, but also lenient if your app has merit beyond a clone, or fart app ;)
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeHowever, when i explained them clearly how my app had different features than other existing ones they approved it on same day.
Though mine is a completely different case because there are 1000s of calculator apps already on the appstore, still, i would say it's always better to have some functionality that isn't there in existing apps.
As there are only 2 apps in your competition, i don't think you should have any problem.
Calci - A simple and beautiful calculator for iPhone
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like Awesome@baya_yu : I was right in my suspicion, I misread the clause. Thanks for clearing that up. But do you have any idea regarding why Apple won't allow IAP for physical goods? I mean I can only see their share of money pie get bigger.
@mediaspree & rahul: Do you guys suggest I clearly mention how unique and different it is during the submission process? Although there are only two visible competitors, I don't want to risk any setback at all as it is a waste of time.
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like Awesome- Spam
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeI then challenged the decision by pointing out that the screen shot they were using to show an empty iAd holder was not a iAd holder but actually a cell from a UITableView.
Next day app was on the app store, so dont just except them at their word if you think they have made an unfair rejection challenge it.
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeAs i said, i don't think you need to worry about other apps. There are just 2 of them so it should get approved easily.
A small tip- Make sure you set the release date considering app rejections in mind. When my app got approved, the release date had already passed. So the app was released at end of the day and was visible on new section for barely a couple of hours. This was a huge mistake on my part. The downloads would have been much better if it had been there for full day. Just thought this might help you in avoiding such mistake.
Calci - A simple and beautiful calculator for iPhone
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeHowever, I do have a question about how they will react to dubious marketing and branding on your app page on the iStore.
My app is designed for a college. Naturally, the app will only be used by the students of that college. So should I clearly mention it is only for students of college X?
This app I'm building is a petri-dish experiment. I don't have the resources to implement it in more than one place, so I can only do it for a limited environment. So the market is very small for the time being. Is there anything I have to mention about that? It's a free app so I'm not scamming anyone for their money. It's just that I want the my app's brand to exist without connotations and affiliations in case I cater to other places in the future.
It's not like Apple will ask my why I'm catering to only a certain physical location right? For all they know about me, I could just be an ambition-less dev who could only find a niche market.
@Rahul: Thanks for the heads up! Luckily I won't encounter your problem. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that my customers will come to me for the app, not the other way around. :)
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like AwesomeFair enough I agree. So I ordered actual images of branches to be made to comply with Apple requirements.
They polite response with the reason for rejection stated that they can't nail everyone who is missing appropriate copyright logo but they trying hard.
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0 • Off Topic Insightful Disagree Dislike Like Awesome