I love the approval process.

There’s been a lot of hate for the App store approval process over the past… well, ever since the App Store surfaced. It seems like anybody who has ever touched the SDK has a bad word to say about the draconian Apple iron curtain. The iPad’s recent release has incited similar levels vitriol – it’s closed, Apple is taking over the world, blah blah.

Apple seems to be blocking applications that duplicate native iPhone apps, applications that use Apple imagery, logos or trademarks, and apps that are offensive. I can see how some of this might be frustrating for someone who hasn’t read the documentation properly before they start working. I kid, I kid! I’m sure it comes as a nasty surprise.

This isn’t the only reason behind the approval process. In fact, I don’t think it’s even the main reason behind the approval process. One reason is to protect Apple’s patents trademarks. You can bitch and moan about this one if you want, but it’s fairly standard. If people have your image on their stuff, your brand is vulnerable. You don’t want to go down this route; Apple has a big legal team, and you are not a lawyer.

But I digress; the other reason is that Apple checks every application to make sure it works. By “works”, I mean: it opens, runs, and doesn’t crash too badly. If it’s a game, it doesn’t have to actually be any good – but at least it works and is playable by anybody who owns an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Remember that we are not the average user. Just like the iPad, the iPhone is also targeted at end-users. The end user doesn’t understand bugs, or approval processes. They understand works, and doesn’t-work. If something doesn’t-work, it instantly tarnishes the device. The shine is gone, the thin veneer of novelty wears away, and the dirty, buggy reality is revealed. You can watch it happen. In effect, they’re screening applications for suckiness.

So why do I love the approval process? Because it means that every application is tested and approved by Apple before I can buy it. I like to think of it as though Apple is the Maître d’ of a fancy, expensive restaurant, tasting every dish before allowing it to be sold to his customers. The more picky he is, the better the food will have to be.

Before I spend my hard-earned bling on a game, or an app, I want to know that it works properly. I want to know that somebody at Apple has tried the damn thing. Apple is actually making itself responsible for the user’s experience on the phone, whether on third-, second- or first-party applications. Can you imagine the kind of shit you’d be able to buy if they opened the floodgates and let any old developer release any old crap onto the App Store? There’s a store icon on the homepage of the phone, for heaven’s sake.

I guess the bottom line is that the people who benefit from the process are the ones who know nothing about it – the end-user – and so they never say anything about it. That means that all we hear about are the developers’ stories – and at that, only the negative ones. This selection bias is why the approval process has such a bad reputation. The poor thing needs a friend. Look, I’m sure you’ve had a bad experience with the App Store’s approval process, but try and remember us, the end-users. We love your apps, and we love our iPhones. The process isn’t perfect, I’m sure, but it’s there for a reason.

I am an iPhone end-user, and I love the approval process.

(I was going to write an article about the iPad, but there are way too many already.)

31 January 2010
14 comments
Viewed 3,348 times



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Comments (14)

Thank you. Finally someone agrees with what has been my view since the beginning. The only thing I think should be a little more open is apps that 'duplicate functionality'. For example, I think Mozilla should have the ability to compete with Safari on the iPhone just to encourage Apple to do a little better (and Safari is only an example). Things like a media player that scrobbles to Last.fm would be nice too.

Danpalmer_n Dan Palmer (@danpalmer)
7 months ago

Why not just let more apps through and let the user base report ones that prove unusable, this puts less stress on the people in charge of filtering and gives apps a chance to blossom. Obviously no clear violations of their main stated tenants would be let through, but just a smoother treatment of developers overall. Also, android.

Gruzign_n Tyler Grad (@Gruzign)
7 months ago

While I agree with everything you said, I would LOVE to see an "unapproved" section or "waiting approval" section for apps. Somewhere for developers, and users who don't mind messing with something that is rough around the edges.

Whatupderek_n Derek Reynolds (@whatupderek)
7 months ago

second @whatupderek's sentiment, an unapproved type section would be very useful - i'd be happy for it to be limited to members of the developer program as well.

Benlumley_n Ben Lumley (@benlumley)
7 months ago

Surely you can't have end users downloading a faulty apps. This will create a huge out cry, that is where i agree with having a approval process. But, transparentcy is something that is amiss here. Lots of people might want to try out a beta or get in on un screened apps. Apple has just made this choice to their benifit... fair enough i guess... the app store is after all theirs.

Foxinni_n Malan Joubert (@foxinni)
7 months ago

Very sound rebuttal of the app store-bashing. I wonder if they could offer to differentiate between "approved" and "yet-to-be-approved" apps or whether that would create a shit-storm far larger than the current situation?

Ricburton_n Richard Burton (@ricburton)
7 months ago

I've had an app stay in Apple's review process for over a year before finally being approved, and I totally agree with everything you said.

Since mid December, I've submitted 6 apps. 3 were approved SAME DAY, 2 were approved NEXT DAY. The last one was only submitted yesterday (a Sunday).

Now we have approval times like that, would I change the approval process? Not in the slightest. Take a look at the top free apps on the Android Market. There's an app there called "Backgrounds". Go and press Install, and look at which permissions it requires.

That's right - it wants access to your location, your contacts, your phone state, and a whole load of other things. Just to set your wallpaper?

Granted, you can do a lot of these things without explicit permission on the iPhone, but I'd like to think Apple's review process flags up "weird" or excessive use in an app.

Simonmaddox_n Simon Maddox (@simonmaddox)
7 months ago

That said, it hasn't stopped Facebook from crashing within 5 seconds of launch since 3.1.2.

I agree that the approval process is a handy crud-catcher but it doesn't work all the time and Apple uses it as an excuse to block anything they like. MP3 players, Google applications, anything that many people would consider useful but goes against Apple's regime is blocked and that "really grinds my gears".

Personally, I always check the reviews before I buy anything. Instead of having a process in place that blocks a huge percentage of apps, I am more than happy to rely on my peer advice on what is good or bad quality. I still often see "this app is buggy, don't bother".

Philsturgeon_n Phil Sturgeon (@philsturgeon)
7 months ago

I think the draconian Apple iron curtain as you rightly put it, is why Apple are in the position they are today. You touch upon the point that bad products can tarnish their reputation and I think had Microsoft taken heed of this, they may not have the buggy Windows operating system that they have now, having opened up the registry for all to play with? Apples protection of their products allows them to have confidence that only the best make it through and having this in place builds confidence in the end user too who will inevitably spend more money ;)

Edwardrkerr_n Edward R Kerr (@edwardrkerr)
7 months ago

I'm with you. We always think the grass is always greener (and there are definitely things I'd like to see improved about the app store), but I shudder to think what the store would be like with the floodgates open.

Gblakeman_n Grant Blakeman (@gblakeman)
7 months ago

"for someone who hasn’t read the documentation properly before they start working"

Really? Has Apple posted an official list of guidelines for AppStore submission? I was under the impression that the current common knowledge was a sort of oral tradition, passed from developer to developer as apps were rejected repeatedly over a period of several months.

"One reason is to protect Apple’s patents. You can bitch and moan about this one if you want, but it’s fairly standard. If people have your image on their stuff, your brand is vulnerable."

You're talking about trademarks here, not patents.

Jamesgecko_n James (@JamesGecko)
7 months ago

@jamesgecko Oops! Spot on about trademarks, good call.

As for the guidelines, the comment was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. A copy of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement is available at http://j.mp/9WxKNF - although I'm not 100% on how current / relevant that version is, or whether that's published legally. If there's a better version I'd like to see it. It clearly states that Apple can choose to publish or not-publish apps as they see fit. You're putting yourself at Apple's mercy on this one, and I can't even begin to imagine how annoying it must be to be rejected - but if you've hit "accept" to this agreement, it seems a bit silly to argue their decision. As always, that's only my £0.02.

Elliottkember_n Elliott Kember (@elliottkember)
7 months ago

You're all fascists.

OK, you're not, and some of the quasi-political bile against the app store system has got a bit silly of late. But I do think the system is more closed than it needs to be. It's striking how two of the commenters up there who agree with you want there to be a section in the app store for unapproved apps. This speaks to the point: both developers, and some users, want the freedom for users to install stuff outside an approval system <i>as long as it's clearly flagged</i>.

If this is all about user experience, apps not crashing etc, why not offer an app store where everything is vetted, but <i>also</i> allow installations from downloaded files for power users? This is essentially the route other manufacturers have gone - my N82, for example, can run approved apps from a store with a one-step process, but also download .sis files from wherever. And I don't see ordinary people fleeing in fear from Nokia phones.

For that matter, why go to such extraordinary lengths to prevent jailbreaking? Allow power users to move outside the fixed system if they want, at their own risk.

The answer has to be this isn't primarily about "protecting" consumers. It's about trademarks, yes, though Apple doesn't seem to find free installation on Macs a risk to its trademarks. And it's about revenue from the App Store. Yes, I know it isn't a vast amount, but it's income for doing comparatively little.

Which is fair enough, I suppose, they're a business. But let's not dress it up as what it's not.

Ravcasleygera_n Rav Casley Gera (@ravcasleygera)
7 months ago

@ravcasleygera You can actually install apps via ad-hoc distribution - Apple supports that. I think it's limited to up to 100 deployments, but there you go - you don't have to be vetted.

As for Nokia phones, you're right, I don't see people fleeing in fear from Nokia phones - but I do see people moving from them to iPhones and noticing the difference. I had to use an N96 while debugging Twiggy, and it was an absolute nightmare, usability-wise. I'd happily advise any ordinary person to run in fear from a Nokia phone any day.

"[F]ree installation on Macs" isn't a risk to trademarks - tampering with the source code, like Psystar did, is.

I'm not sure "income for doing comparatively little" sums up what they've done with the App Store. They've developed and released a groundbreaking phone at a decent price, overturned the mobile market, and produced a platform and SDK. As for profit, I don't know how much Apple has made back on its investment in the App Store, but I do know that it's converted a lot of people to Mac users and enthusiasts. In the long term, I think that's a net win for Apple.

Elliottkember_n Elliott Kember (@elliottkember)
7 months ago