No matter how much market share Android grabs: it is Apple\u2019s App Store that started this app thing rolling. Never forget that OS vendors and phone operators tried to push app stores before Apple came in, but fragmentation, horrible user interaction design, billing issues and perplexing compatibility problems made them a dead loss for most users. Today, Apple\u2019s mobile platform remains the most important one in many sectors.<\/p>\n
The trade off with app stores is that you give up freedom of choice (install anything you want from anywhere) in return for a safer and better experience; software installation nasties like runtime dependencies, malware or fake download apps do not exist. At least, that is how it is meant to be, which is why some are so disappointed<\/a> by Microsoft\u2019s store.<\/p>\n Now Apple has offered us some limited insight into its own curation practice. It has published the top ten reasons for App rejections<\/a> for the last week in August.<\/p>\n Aside from the generic \u201cmore information needed,\u201d the top reason is bugs, and the next two are non-compliance with the developer terms (could mean anything) and user interfaces that are poor or too complex.<\/p>\n Close behind it is another key one:<\/p>\n Apps that contain false, fraudulent or misleading representations or use names or icons similar to other Apps will be rejected<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n which accounts for the main complaint about some apps that make it into Microsoft\u2019s store.<\/p>\n What Apple does not tell us is the proportion of apps that are approved, either first time, or after one or two revisions.<\/p>\n There is little to argue about in Apple\u2019s list of reasons to reject, except this one:<\/p>\n If your app doesn\u2019t offer much functionality or content, or only applies to a small niche market, it may not be approved.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Apps without content are fair game, but why should small niche markets not be served? It does not bother me if a great app for jellyfish spotters makes it into the store.<\/p>\n The other factor here is that if an app store has enough high quality apps then the bad ones will be hardly visible, other than in search results. Store curation is about presentation as well as content.<\/p>\n Is Apple getting it right? I am not hearing much shouting from developers about the arbitrary or unknown reasons why their app was rejected, which suggests that it is, but it may be I am not listening intently enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No matter how much market share Android grabs: it is Apple\u2019s App Store that started this app thing rolling. Never forget that OS vendors and phone operators tried to push app stores before Apple came in, but fragmentation, horrible user interaction design, billing issues and perplexing compatibility problems made them a dead loss for most … Continue reading Curating an app store: does Apple have it right?<\/span> \n
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