Not cool Apple

Written by

Paul Kafasis:

Today, we’ve been informed that Apple has removed Airfoil Speakers Touch from the iOS App Store.1 We first heard from Apple about this decision two days ago, and we’ve been discussing the pending removal with them since then. However, we still do not yet have a clear answer on why Apple has chosen to remove Airfoil Speakers Touch. Needless to say, we’re quite disappointed with their decision, and we’re working hard to once again make the application available for you, our users.

There has to be a better way to handle this and deal with your developers.



  • http://taschencasts.de/ Manuel

    I know the reason. Maybe because you “stealed” AirPlay? :D

  • http://twitter.com/marekbell Marek Bell

    As one of the developers of WiFiFoFum, I know how much this kind of thing majorly sucks. I think this demonstrates the worst part of Apple.

  • http://www.lazyprogrammers.com Eugene Kim

    Apple seems to have a dual personality to the point of being schizophrenic, one that is very thoughtful, deliberate, and innovative, and one that is blunt, stubborn, and border-line jackass. You would sit with one half over coffee and have wonderful debates over various issues and learn from each other, and then the other half would glare at you and act like a broken record. If they could just lose the jackass, they’d be a much more “likable” company. Maybe they don’t want that.

  • Matthew Butch

    “There has to be a better way to handle this and deal with your developers”  There is, but Apple won’t do it. 

    They need to get out of this only curated app game. It doesn’t help quality and just keeps given bad press.

    Allow any app to be installed, and this isn’t a big deal.

    • gjgustav

      That is absolutely not. I don’t want an app store filled with malware, thank you very much.

      The solution is what Jay said above. Have better developer relations staff work with you to reach a mutually beneficial solution.

    • Peter Cohen

      This is how malware creeps into Google Play/Android Market. Absolutely unacceptable for users, and something that Apple will not do.

  • Jay

    As a developer, I agree this sucks. We’ve had rejections with little information on why and how to fix it so I understand the frustration. The answer, however, isn’t to compromise iOS (which is the most secure OS shipping) by eliminating the curation. This would only lead to more frustration on the user’s part because of malware. Customer support is significantly easier on iOS than on Android because we don’t have to deal with the “malware is causing your problem” type issues.

    The solution is for Apple to spend some of that stockpiled $$ and hire more developer relations people so that when there is a problem we can contact them and discuss the issue and work on a resolution. Currently it’s a hit-or-miss proposition when trying to contact the company about these issues – sometimes you get decent feedback (we’ve never gotten good or great communication) and cooperation and other times it seems like nobody is paying attention. In fact, I think only the really large developers get the kind of service that all developers deserve.

  • lucascott

    Sounds a bunch of folks haven’t read the rules of play recently. You give Apple the right to pull your app at any time and not they don’t have to forewarn you or explain themselves. They generally do but they aren’t required you. You agreed to that. 

  • lucascott

    So Jim now that it is been revealed that Rogue Amoeba’s awesome new feature was created using APIs they weren’t authorized to use are you going to apologize.