It seems that Apple doesn’t like it when developers mention Android in their app descriptions. As in, they won’t let Flash of Genius do it, even though it’s relevant and helps to increase sales of our app, Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab.
Today we got an email from the Apple approval process people:
Dear Flash of Genius, LLC,
Thank you for submitting Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab 2.2 to the App Store. During our review of your application, we found that your application contains inappropriate or irrelevant platform information in the Application Description and/or Release Notes sections.
Providing future platform compatibility plans or other general platform references are not relevant in the context of the iPhone App Store. While your application has not been rejected, it would be appropriate to remove “Finalist in Google’s Android Developer’s Challenge!” from the Application Description [Emphasis added].
Please log into iTunes Connect to make appropriate changes to the Application Description now to avoid an interruption in the availability of Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab 2.2 on the iPhone App Store.
Regards,
iPhone Developer Program
I suppose it’s logical, and I’m not complaining; Apple is a wonderful company to work with. I took out the offending bit from the description.
Meanwhile, I wish there were a wording that would somehow allow us to leverage our Top 10 finish in the Android Developer’s Challenge in the app description, without offending Apple. Maybe I’ll email them.
RIP, old app store description:
[...] Tweets about this great post on TwittLink.com [...]
[...] sentido e não estou reclamando; a Apple é uma companhia ótima de se trabalhar com”, disse em um post sobre o caso no blog da Flash of Genius. Apesar disso, ele com razão lamenta não poder ostentar na descrição [...]
[...] of the iPhone version of their app. Apple didn’t agree, and sent the developers an email asking them to remove the Android line from their app description, under threat of an “interruption” in Flash of Genius’ [...]
At first this looked like an abuse of power on Apple’s part, but when I read the text, it is a bit misleading. I think you just need to clarify to shoppers that the prize was won by the Android app, not the iPhone app. As it stands, it seems like you’re saying that this app that I am about to download won a top 10 prize. But the iPhone version isn’t what won the prize. The fact that Google gave out the prize is helpful to people who know about Android, but not everybody does know that. Also, “top 10″ is awesome on the Android Market, but “top 10″ on the App Store is a much bigger deal because of the greater competition.
That said I do hope they accept a different version of the text. If they don’t, that would seem really unfair.
22 updates… update your phone! LOL!
[...] of Genius is taking a rather generous standpoint on all this, and has agreed to amend the copy to avoid offending power-mad Apple, because… what else can you do when MIGHTY LORD APPLE [...]
Thank you for submitting to my all-knowing power.
Now remove your App from the Android Store. Otherwise we’ll remove your iPhone App from the AppStore.
Don’t bend over for Apple. This is just another kind of foul play by apple in their declared war and as with any war, you have to choose sides. If you choose to change the description, you side with apple. If you don’t, then you show you have a brain and rightfully claim credit for your accomplishments.
@ Kevin Connor
Look at the sentence they wanted removed. It’s the one that noted the android developer challenge.
I didn’t know Apple could be so… Chinese…
[...] of the iPhone version of their app. Apple didn’t agree, and sent the developers an email asking them to remove the Android line from their app description, under threat of an “interruption” in Flash of Genius’ [...]
[...] Flash of Genius: The Blog] Tags: Android, app store, iPad, iPhone You may also like to see the following [...]
[...] of the iPhone version of their app. Apple didn’t agree, and sent the developers an email asking them to remove the Android line from their app description, under threat of an “interruption” in Flash of Genius’ [...]
[...] of the iPhone version of their app. Apple didn’t agree, and sent the developers an email asking them to remove the Android line from their app description, under threat of an “interruption” in Flash of Genius’ [...]
[...] You can read the full Flash of Genius blog article here. [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] [...]
[...] that it doesn’t like seeing all the talk about Android in its store. A portion of the e-mail was published on the official blog of Flash of Genius: Providing future platform compatibility plans or other general platform references are not [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [ Flash of Genius] [...]
[...] leggere l’intera letterina di Apple a questo indirizzo. Non avendo prove certe sulla veridicità del testo, è difficile esprimere un giudizio anche se, [...]
[...] leggere l’intera letterina di Apple a questo indirizzo. Non avendo prove certe sulla veridicità del testo, è difficile esprimere un giudizio anche se, [...]
[...] Apple prohibe mencionar a Android en su App Store (ING) flash-of-genius.com/blog/?p=8 por jm22381 hace 3 segundos [...]
[...] And while this is hardly an offensive move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] [...]
Just reword it to
“Winner of the Google developer challenge for (competing app Apple forbids the name of)
How about “This app was also a finalist in a major software development contest. Check your favorite search engine for more information.”
Maybe Apple would accept “Recognized by Google for application development”. I wouldn’t put it past Apple to reject it because you mention Google’s name though.
Or if you said “Also available on Android.” I’ve seen plenty of Android apps talk about their iPhone versions. But you don’t see Google telling developers to remove that because it’s an open platform.
I don’t know if you remember…. Microsoft being forced to not include Internet Explorer with Windows because it was considered anticompetitive.
Maybe you remember that?
Well I would say that Apple are much MUCH worse.
Bring on the class action lawsuits!
If you were Coke and has a store that sold only Coke-related products, would you want to see a product description that talked their other about Pepsi-related products and the awards they had won?
Didn’t think so.
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Any chance there was that I would fairly consider purchasing any products from Apple has thusly been squandered. They are forgetting that it is app developers like this one that adds enough value to their products to allow them to become the dominant player in the market that they are today. I would label such pettiness as more “inappropriate” than his mention of “Google” or “Android” when considering the importance of maintaining the good will of the developers they depend so much on.
[...] of Genius: SAT Vocab just been caught in the crossfire of Apple and Google’s war. Apple has asked the developer to remove a portion of the app’s description which states that the app was a finalist in [...]
[...] ha enviado una misiva a los desarrolladores de Flash of Genius de que eliminen de la descripción de la aplicación las [...]
[...] move, it’s good to see the war trickling down through all the aspects of the business. [Flash of Genius] Tagged:androidappleappsdevelopersgoogleiphoneiphone [...]
I guess it’s alright if you’re ripping on Android.
Check out http://itunes.com/Apps/BrokeAndroid
If I have an iPhone I wouldn’t be looking for an Android app, and if I have an Android, I would not be looking in the iPhone App Store.
[...] Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab just been caught in the crossfire of Apple and Google’s war. Apple has asked the developer to remove a portion of the app’s description which states that the app was a finalist in [...]
I think the line about Android is confusing for consumers (especially if you begin your description with “Finalist in Google’s Android Developer’s Challenge!” I won’t get into speculation on what might go through a consumer’s mind, but its one thing to say, “Finalist in IGNs Developer Challenge”, and another if you say, “Finalist in IGNs Android Developer Challenge”. One sentence, to me, implies that this application was a finalist. The other implies that this application is a finalist and that the application runs on Android.
Because I know better, I know it wouldn’t be in the App Store if it was an Android app, and that the iPhone doesn’t run Android apps. Average consumer? They’ll need to scroll down and double-check that this is for iPhone/iPod Touch.
I’d be more sympathetic if your message saved the accolades for the bottom, and explicitly made it clear that the “Developer Challenge Finalist” was for the Android VERSION of the app. The fact is however, that this is the App Store. People are downloading the iPhone version of the app. Any mention of “Android” is likely inappropriate unless you are promoting that the iPhone app allows you to either communicate with versions for other platforms (and lists those platforms), OR that versions of the software are available on other platforms (and lists them). Anything else seems needlessly confusing to consumers.
If a world where NUMEROUS jerky developers could cut/paste their text description between stores, I think Apple needs to have some automated process to weed out confusing text that was not intended for AppStore users.
I still call that being a good steward.
If Microsoft had similar policies everyone would raise holy hell about them. But Apple does this and people call it reasonable!?! Absurd.
[...] Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab just been caught in the crossfire of Apple and Google’s war. Apple has asked the developer to remove a portion of the app’s description which states that the app was a finalist in [...]
[...] leggere l’intera letterina di Apple a questo indirizzo. Non avendo prove certe sulla veridicità del testo, è difficile esprimere un giudizio anche se, [...]
Apple marketing is lying on the ground in a pool of blood from it’s severed legs as the smoke wafts from the shotgun in its own hand. And I am laughing.
Great Read! Looking forward to more! Bookmarked the site and will be back again!
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