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Apple iPad & The Bath Water

I love Apple. There, I said it. I love their vibe, their vision and most of all, their products. In fact, I'm so enamored with the iPad that I'm staking my future on it by building a company around developing software for iPad. Or at least I'm trying to. What's my biggest barrier to success? Apple. That's right. Apple. Let me explain...

About 6 months ago I was laid off. It was a good thing as I really hated my job and I took the opportunity to start my own company. The iPad had just been announced and I saw it in a way that many people couldn't and still don't: I see the iPad as a transformation tool for vertical business applications. I mean real business applications - not just expense reports and calendars, but important business critical niche market stuff. Stuff that changes they way people do business forever. I wrote a lot about this a while back.

So anyway, my company is called Architactile and we develop iPad software for architects. I spent 4 months developing what was to be released as a beta product for free in the Apple App Store in early July. It was initially submitted on July 4, 2010.  Today is August 26 and to date my app has been rejected six consecutive times and is still not available in the App Store. It's now awaiting it's seventh review.  To be fair, some of the blame is on me but most of this delay has been Apple's famous and seemingly arbitrary application of it's ill-defined rules for the approval of an app.

So what's happened? Here's an a brief history...

July 3rd. The day before I first submitted my app I got an email from Apple. This email was in response to some questions I had asked over a month prior.  Ironically, almost none of my questions were answered but I was told that "Beta" applications were not allowed in the App Store. This was news to me. I hadn't asked about this, but I had stated in my email that I was planning a Beta release. Oh well. What now?  I reviewed Apple's policies (not trivial) and had some discussions with folks like Dan Lovejoy. Dan works for a la mode, a software firm based in Oklahoma City that specializes in Real Estate software. They have a killer iPad app for appraisers called DiVinci that is released as a "prototype" (essentially a codeword  for "Beta").  Based on feedback from Dan and taking a cue from DaVinci I renamed my app from "Inception Beta" to "Inception Prerelease Preview" and submitted to the app store.

A week went by (the average time Apple takes before they start to look at apps once submitted) and to my surprise, I received a reject email from Apple. Specifically I was rejected because of a bug I didn't catch. My fault. Completely. But also in the rejection email was the somewhat cryptic (but Apple standard) text:

Inception Prerelease Preview cannot be posted because it is a feature-limited version application.  Free or "Lite" versions are acceptable, however the application must be a fully functional app and cannot reference features that are not implemented or up-sell to the full version.

"Huh?" I thought. "but I see 'feature limited' versions all over they place in the app store. And yes, they are called Lite but almost without exception they advertise the functions only implemented in the full version and they ALWAYS up-sell to the full version. ALWAYS." So I was confused. I fixed my bug and resubmitted figuring that Apple would give me more detail if there was still a problem.

A week later, rejection #2. This time the stated reason was a minor violation of the iPad's Human Interface Guidelines. I'll own this one too. It wasn't on purpose and it was minor, but it was a mistake. This, I thought, is what the app review process is for. I corrected the issue and resubmitted.

A week later, rejection #3. This time almost no detail but a repeat of a familiar phrase:

Inception Prerelease Preview cannot be posted because it is a beta or feature-limited version. Free or "Lite" versions are acceptable, however the application must be a fully functional app and cannot reference features that are not implemented or up-sell to the full version.

At this point, I'm 3 weeks behind where I wanted to be, I'm frustrated and I'm completely unclear about what Apple wants me to do. It's moments like this that non-iOS developers don't really appreciate how frustrating the process is. There is only one way to (legally) distribute iOS software to the masses - through iTunes. Unless Apple anoints you, you're screwed. Wasted effort. I've read this type of post from other developers but I've always thought - well, that's what you get for playing too close to the line - developers producing silly apps of no real value (like the Fart Machine) or apps that infringe on AT&T services or existing Apple applications, or apps containing content considered too risque.  But for me, for my app, a business tool for architects?  I thought I was WAY inside the line. I wasn't trying to dupe anyone here. I was trying to GIVE away a FREE app for Pete's sake. I'm trying to give architects a legitimate reason to buy an iPad. And the worst part is that there is no way to reliably contact Apple and have a discussion. You can't call them. You can email them but they tell you upfront that they may never respond and they don't tell you how long it might be. My previous email had taken over a month for them to respond to. I couldn't wait that long. So I removed the most egregious marketing components of my FREE app. I removed everything that talked about upcoming features. I wasn't sure if I had to change the name and I didn't want to, so I held my breath and resubmitted. I also wrote several emails to Apple asking about details about exactly what I needed to change in case I was still misinterpreting their crypic seemingly hypocritical rejection rhetoric.

A week later, I got a phone call... from Apple! Whatever negative feelings I may have had festering immediately disseminated. It was awesome that they called, and I still really, really appreciate it. It turns out they do this from time to time when they think a call can short cut the process after several rejections. We talked for almost an hour. I learned a ton about the process and what I needed to do. I didn't like everything Apple asked, but as least the guidance was clear. I learned that because I had been rejected before, and especially since I had been rejected more that once that my app was being reviewed with ever heightening scrutiny. And that my app was dragging with it the running history of it's reviews. Because of this I was advised to modify my app to be beyond reproach, to remove absolutely everything that might suggest that this app wasn't the "real" app. I could use anything with a "Pre" prefix - no preview, no prerelease, no Pre-Inception (which is how it showed up on the iPad screen). I couldn't  mention forthcoming features, or forthcoming applications or software. And I had to change the name to "Inception Lite."

Since I was really desperate to get my app approved, I pulled out all of the skeletons. I asked about things that Apple hadn't mentioned but I could imagine might be a problem. Specifically I asked about user registration. My app had a REQUIRED user registration page the called for first and last name and email address. This information is sent off to my server via the internet. "Was that okay?" I asked. The Apple rep told me that required registration was fine as long as the app is free (which he knew mine was) but for non-free apps registration needed to be optional. Fair enough. Since my app was free we mutually agreed I was in the clear.

Interestingly, the Apple rep told me that I was the most forthcoming developer he had ever talked to. He said most developers are trying to misdirect or disguise things to sneak them past Apple. That's just not the way I roll, especially at the front end of a relationship. To my surprise the Apple rep's advice to me was "to be less forthcoming with Apple" and to leave more things unsaid. That's a really sad way to do business with your trading partners, but I was ready to do whatever it took to get my app in the damn App Store.

The Apple Rep also told me how to get an expedited review for my app, which saves about 3 or 4 days. That was awesome.  The next day I resubmitted and wrote my email asking for expedited review.

About 4 days later, I receive rejection email #5. What now? What else do they want? Blood?  As it turns out, my app crashed during testing. Three times. The email described how to make the crash to happen...it essentially happened 7 taps after launch... every time for the Apple tester.  I couldn't believe it. How did I miss this in my own testing?  Well, after 3 days of my own very, very thorough testing I'm convinced that I didn't miss it. I have never been able to recreate what the Apple tester reported. I had been through those same steps hundreds of times before (they're normal steps in using the app) and had never seen it in the past either.  I can only assume that there was some other environmental factor to cause the problem and I don't believe it came from my app. So for all the dumb luck, my one shot at expedited review and some fluke causes a crash in testing. Another week gone.

So now what? How do you change an application to fix a problem that doesn't seem to exist? Well, you don't. I changed a few other things though, minor tweaks that had no relation to what Apple had reported. You know, just so the binary file would be different. And for the 6th time, I submitted the app for approval.

A week later, yesterday in fact, I get rejection email #6. This time Apple says

Applications cannot require user registration prior to allowing access to app features and content; such user registration must be optional and tied to account-based functionality.

Huh? WTF!?!? This is EXACTLY what I had asked when Apple called me two weeks ago and EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of what I had been told. What's more the registration page is the very first thing you see when you launch the application. You can't get into the application without registering. And it's been that way since I first submitted the app on July 4th. FIVE previous Apple reviewers have all clicked through the REQUIRED registration page and not until now, the SIXTH review, does anyone mention it.

In about 10 minutes I added a button to let users skip my registration even though I had been told two weeks ago by an Apple representative this was okay. Go ahead, use my free application. Don't worry about me contacting you, Apple won't let me know who you are, loser.

That should meet the requirement of an "optional" registration, but what about "account-based functionality?" The "and" between those two tells me they are BOTH required. This freaked me out. I don't have any account-based functionality. But the statement itself didn't even make sense to me. How can you have account-based functionality and have optional registration? Hoping that they really meant "or" and not "and" I held my breath, again, and submitted my app for review for the seventh time last night. I followed up with an email asking for a merciful expedited review, hoping for benevolence, half-expecrting to be put on an even darker shade of black list.

Early this morning I sent another email off to Apple asking for clarification on the "and/or" issue. They responded almost instantly (just when I start to get really pissed Apple always seem to do something exceptional). Turns out they really meant "or" so if the registration is optional then no account-based features are required.  Of course, two weeks ago they told me required registration was okay on free apps, so who know. I guess I'll find out in a week.

As I said, I love Apple, but I love them a little less than I did 3 weeks ago. If Apple iPad is the proverbial baby, then the arbitrary and inaccessible application submission process is the bath water. In the past, when I thought I was standing inside it, I've been a vocal defender of Apple's walled garden. I'm slowly starting to feel like I'm standing outside though, looking in through razor wire laced trellis. I'm too invested in the baby to throw it out, but man, I sure could do without the bath water.

UPDATE: Remember how I said "just when I start to get really pissed Apple always seem to do something exceptional." Well Apple pulled it off twice in one day. After submitting my app for the seventh time late last night and sending an email of desperation to Apple, someone inside those hallowed white halls heard me. My app went into review literally WHILE I was writing this original post. Less that 24 hours after submission. It was approved and on the way to the App Store about 90 minutes later. RECORD TIME. My App, Inception Lite is now available in the App Store for download at no cost. I guess the seventh time really is the charm.

And now I'm ready to drink the bath water and pretend it's Kool Aid. I love you Apple, I never doubted you for a second.

Author: Matt Galloway

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