- Feb 23, 2018 Genuine purchase receipts—from purchases in the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, or Apple Music—include your current billing address, which scammers are unlikely to have. You can also review your App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, or Apple Music purchase history.
- Browse, purchase, and download apps for your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV in the App Store. Learn how to use the App Store Build, battle, explore, and more Discover more than 100 exclusive single-player and multiplayer games with.
App Store Badges
Include App Store badges in all digital and printed marketing materials as a clear call to action to get your app. App Store badges are available in 40 localizations to help you reach a broader audience. Versions are available for the App Store for iPhone and iPad, the Mac App Store, and Apple TV.
App Store Badge Downloads Hide allView all
Preferred Badges
Use the preferred black badge in all marketing communications promoting your app. The gray border surrounding the black badge is part of the badge artwork and should not be modified. Www apple com ipad software update. Whenever one or more badges for other app platforms appear in the layout, use the preferred black badge. Place the App Store badge first in the lineup of badges.
Is the only all-you-can-read eBook library for kids 12 and under with unlimited access to over 10,000 high-quality kids books. Parler, the alternative social media platform favored by conservatives, now finds itself virtually homeless on the internet as Amazon, Apple and Google have all booted it from their platforms in a. COMPLETE PRIVATE BROWSING! Web Browser is a simple, easy-to-use app that lets you visit your favorite sites securely and privately. FEATURES √ Protect content with passcode or Touch ID √ Faster Browsing, Load instantly and get to what you want in a snap. √ Fullscreen Browsing, Interface can disappe.
Alternative Badges
The alternative white badge is designed to give you greater versatility and can be used when the preferred black badge appears visually heavy in the layout. The alternative badge is suitable when only one badge appears in the layout and when it complements the colors used in the layout. If badges for other app platforms appear in your communication, use the preferred black badge, not the alternative white badge.
Localized Badges
Apple provides badge artwork with the modifiers Download on the and Pre-order on the translated into regional languages. The service mark App Store always appears in English. Never translate App Store or create your own localized badge.
Available in Azərbaycan dili, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Čeština, Dansk, Deutsch, Eesti Keel, English, Español, Français, Italiano, Latviski, Lietuviškai, Magyar, Malti, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, Português Brasil, Pусский, Română, Slovenčina, Slovenščina, Suomi, Svenska, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt, Türkçe, Ελληνικά, български, עברית, العربية , ภาษาไทย, 한국어, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文.
Badge Use
Use one App Store badge per layout or video. Place the badge in a subordinate position to the image or main message so that it isn’t the dominant artwork. Don’t modify, angle, or animate the App Store badge.
Use the pre-order badge to indicate that your app is available for pre-order on the App Store. Once the app is released for download, be sure to replace the pre-order badge with the download badge in all of your marketing materials. For more information on making your apps available for pre-order, see Offering Your Apps for Pre-Order.
Use only the badge artwork provided in these guidelines. Don’t use icons, logos, graphics, or images from www.apple.com to promote your app. Never use the Apple logo in place of the word Apple. Don’t use the standalone Apple logo.
Mac App Store
Graphic Standards
Minimum clear space is equal to one-quarter the height of the badge. Don’t place photos, typography, or other graphic elements inside the minimum clear space.
Minimum badge height is 10 mm for use in printed materials and 40 px for use onscreen. Select a size that is clearly legible but not dominant in the layout.
When the badge is placed on advertising with very limited layout space, such as banners for mobile devices, select a badge size that is clearly legible on the target mobile devices. Minimum clear space for very limited layout space is equal to one-tenth the height of the badge.
For printed materials, the badge can be printed in one color if black and white inks are not used on the layout. The line art portion of the badge (Apple logo, type, and outline rule) can be printed in the ink color used on the layout as long as it provides sufficient contrast for clear legibility.
Apple Product Images
Use Apple-provided product images in all your marketing materials to display your app on the Apple devices it supports. Always use the latest-generation product images for which your app is currently developed.
Apple Product Image Downloads Hide allView all
Image Use
Feature Apple product images on their own in your communications, and don’t include images of competing products. References to multiple platforms and competing products can be made only in copy or with badges.
Use Apple product images “as is” and without modification. Modifications include adding reflections, shadows, highlights, or graphic elements that appear to enter or come out of the product screen; cropping, tilting, or obstructing any part of the images; animating, flipping, or spinning the images; or creating buttons or icons with a product image. You can place promotional copy or violators beside the product images, not on top of them.
Graphic Standards
Use Apple product images at a size that is clearly legible at the image resolution provided. Ensure that the minimum device size is no smaller than 25 mm in height for printed materials and 200 px onscreen. Maintain the correct relative product scale whenever multiple products are shown.
Unauthorized Uses
The following uses of Apple products are not permitted in marketing materials:
- Rendering in 3D or creating any simulation of an Apple product
- Illustrations that depict an Apple product, except for instructional material
- Die-cut promotions in the shape of an Apple product
- Food industry disposable packaging or promotions that use an Apple product or App Store badge
- Decals, bumper stickers, or magnets placed on the outside of any vehicle that use an Apple product or App Store badge
- Graphics, illustrations, or logotypes to represent an Apple product
If your marketing contains illustrations of generic devices, ensure that these devices do not include details that are unique to Apple products, such as the iPhone Home button, sensor housing, Ring/Silent switch, or volume controls.
Screen Content
Focus on the experience of using your app and not on Apple product functions. Display your app on the screen as it appears when your app is running. For apps that work within Messages, Siri, Phone, or Maps, display your app within the Apple UI exactly as it appears when your app is running. Apps that support widgets may display this functionality in screen content as long as no third-party content is shown on the Home Screen. Be sure to create screens using the latest operating system version. Don’t display a blank screen on an Apple product, or on a television screen when showcasing Apple TV.
You are responsible for securing the rights to all materials used in screen content within your app, and you should display fictional account information instead of data from a real person. For the screen content of apps that work within Apple apps, you are responsible for securing the rights and approvals for third-party content such as store names or locations.
Status Bar
The status bar for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch should show a full network icon or product designator, a full Wi-Fi icon, and a full battery icon. If your app runs full screen, you can extend your app screen image over the status bar.
Status bar options are provided on different layers within the Smart Object layer. Be sure to select the correct localized layer for the region in which your marketing communications will appear.
Home Screen
If your app supports widgets, you may show your app’s widget on the Home Screen as long as no third-party content is depicted in your communications. Otherwise, don’t display an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch,Apple Watch, or Apple TV Home Screen.
For product images of iMac, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air in the desktop display option, remember to add your icon to the Dock and customize the menu bar titles to match your app’s menu bar.
Custom Photography and Video
Custom photography and video of Apple products are allowed. Show people interacting with the Apple product in an authentic way, and feature your app in a realistic manner, exactly as a user will experience it.
Product Use
Straight-on product shots are preferred. Don’t use extreme angles or alter an Apple product in any way. The product’s color, shape, size, and form must be accurate. Don’t engage in “suspension of disbelief” by showing Apple products or your app in a fantastic or unrealistic manner.
Only show the back of a device in an authentic manner to illustrate natural use of the device. Don’t feature the Apple logo to take advantage of the promotional value of the Apple brand. Don’t obscure or cover the logo.
In video, once you show an establishing shot of the entire Apple device, you may pan and zoom to focus on your app. Present the movement in a simple, clear manner. Use straightforward transitions such as fade or dissolve. Don’t use Apple user interaction gestures such as Multi-Touch or trackpad swipes to perform scene transitions.
Start the app sequence with your app open. If app sequences are shortened, display a “sequences shortened” disclaimer. You can use the sounds that your app makes naturally as audio elements of your video, but don’t use the native sounds of the Apple device.
Screen Content
Focus on the experience of using your app and not on Apple product functions. For apps that work within Messages, Siri, Phone, or Maps, display your app within the Apple UI exactly as it appears when your app is running. Be sure to create screens using the latest operating system version. Don’t display a blank screen on an Apple product, or on a television screen when showcasing Apple TV.
You are responsible for securing the rights to all materials used in screen content within your app, and you should display fictional account information instead of data from a real person. For the screen content of apps that work within Apple apps, you are responsible for securing the rights and approvals for third-party content such as store names or locations.
Status Bar
The status bar for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch should show a full network icon or product designator, a full Wi-Fi icon, and a full battery icon. Don’t show the name or identity of a carrier. If your app runs full screen, you can extend your app screen image over the status bar.
Home Screen
Don’t display an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch,Apple Watch, or Apple TV Home Screen in your communications.
Trademark Attribution
Include Apple credit lines wherever legal information is provided. At the end of a video, display the correct credit lines for Apple trademarks used in your video as described in Legal Requirements below. Maintain clear-space requirements when credit lines follow the badge.
Push Notifications
When showing push notifications from your app in advertising, display a single push notification on the lock screen of the Apple device. Don’t include multiple push notifications from your app, or other app’s push notifications. If tapped, the push notification must open the app directly. Don’t show the Home Screen of the Apple device.
Messaging and Writing Style
When promoting your app, your headline and copy should focus on your app, not on Apple product features. Use clear, simple messaging. Always include a call to action to download your app.
Refer to the correct product names your app supports, and avoid referring to iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS in your marketing communications. Don’t refer to Apple devices generically as “smartphones” or “tablets.” Use the product names.
Product Names
Use Apple product names such as Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV in a referential phrase to indicate that your app is compatible with these products. For example, say app name for iPhone or app name for iPad, or use a phrase such as works with or compatible with. Don’t say iPhone app name.
List all the Apple products that your app runs on. Don’t list Apple products that are not compatible with your app.
When including your company name, lead with the company name followed by the app name and end with the appropriate Apple product names. For example, it is correct to say Company name App name for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Spelling and Language
Always use the correct Apple product names with the correct capitalization as shown on the Apple Trademark List. Always use Apple product names in singular form. Modifiers such as model, device, or collection can be plural or possessive. Never typeset Apple product names using all uppercase letters.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Always typeset iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a lowercase i and an uppercase P followed by lowercase letters. Always typeset touch with a lowercase t. The name iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch should start with a lowercase i even when it is the first word in a sentence, paragraph, or title. Don’t use variations such as touch or iTouch. Never use a lowercase i followed by all uppercase letters.
iPhone XS,iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
For headlines and copy, use an uppercase X, small cap S, and small cap R whenever technically possible and when you can ensure efficient and accurate implementation. For example: iPhone XS Max. When you cannot ensure that small caps will render accurately or when technical limitations may prevent the display of small caps, use an uppercase X, S, and R. For example: iPhone XS Max.To implement small caps on webpages, make sure your specified font supports OpenType and use the font-variant CSS property font-variant: small-caps;.
MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac
Mac is always set with an uppercase M followed by lowercase letters; MacBook is one word with an uppercase M and B; and iMac always begins with a lowercase i followed by an uppercase M followed by lowercase letters. iMac begins with a lowercase i even when it is the first word in a sentence.
Apple Watch
Always typeset Apple Watch as two words with an uppercase A and an uppercase W followed by lowercase letters. Don’t break Apple Watch over two lines. Don’t use the article the before Apple Watch. Apple Watch apps are available on the App Store or can be downloaded on the App Store. It is acceptable to say Name of app for Apple Watch when your promotion is focused on your app features and benefits related to Apple Watch.
When promoting your app, your headlines and copy should focus on your app, not on Apple Watch features. Don’t use the word watch or time as a pun or verb in your marketing materials.
When referring to Apple Watch, use the term Apple WatchSeries 1, Apple Watch Series 3, or Apple Watch Series 4, depending on the features and functionality available in your app.
Apple TV
Apple TV is typeset as two words with an uppercase A followed by lowercase letters, and an uppercase TV. If your app is offered only for Apple TV, clarify that your app is exclusive to Apple TV and available only from the App Store on Apple TV.
App Store
Always typeset App Store with an uppercase A and an uppercase S followed by lowercase letters.
Refer to just the App Store unless you need to be more specific; in that case, you can use App Store for iPhone, App Store for iPad, Mac App Store, App Store for Apple TV,App Store for Apple Watch, or App Store for iMessage. To refer to all the versions, use this order: App Store for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch,Apple TV, and iMessage. Don’t use terms such as Apple WatchApp Store or App Store for watchOS.
Include only the article the before App Store and Mac App Store. Never include other descriptors; for example, don’t say iTunes App Store, Apple App Store, or iPhone App Store. Don’t add superlatives such as the best App Store. It is correct to say that an app is available on the App Store or can be downloaded from the App Store. Don’t use at the App Store. Don’t use the term downloadable.
Apple Apps and Services
When using the Apple names Apple Pay,Wallet, Messages, Siri, Phone, or Maps, always typeset with a capital letter. iMessage, the service within the Messages app, must be spelled with a lowercase i and an uppercase M followed by lowercase letters.
View Apple Pay guidelines
View Apple Wallet guidelines
View Apple Wallet guidelines
Other Platforms
Apple product names can appear in copy along with the names of other app platforms or devices. List Apple products first. Although the names of other products can be used in promotional copy, never display Apple product images alongside the images of other products.
URL Address Naming
Apple trademark names can be included in your URL address only when the trademark follows your company and/or product name. Apple trademarks can be used in URLs only for web pages that feature apps developed specifically for the Apple product named. Never start a URL with an Apple trademark.
Acceptable: www.company.com/app/iphone or www.company.com/ipad
Not acceptable: www.iphoneapp.com or www.ipadweatherapp.com
Not acceptable: www.iphoneapp.com or www.ipadweatherapp.com
Legal Requirements
Trademark Symbols
In communications distributed only in the United States, the appropriate symbol (™, ℠, or ®) must follow each Apple trademark the first time it is mentioned in body copy. Do not use trademark symbols on products, product documentation, or other product communications that will be distributed outside the United States.
For example, use Apple Watch®, iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®,Apple TV®,App Store®,Mac App Store℠, Mac®, MacBook Pro®,MacBook Air®, and iMac®.
Don’t add symbols to headline copy or to the App Store badge artwork provided by Apple.
For the correct trademark symbols, refer to the Apple Trademark List.
Credit Lines
Use the appropriate credit lines in all communications worldwide, listing all the Apple trademarks and products included in your communication and advertising. Include the credit lines only once in your communication or website, and place the credit lines wherever you provide legal notification. Follow standard practices for the placement of legal copy, such as creating additional screens or providing interactive links. When the App Store badge is used, credit both Apple and the Apple Logo.
Refer to the Apple Trademark List for the correct trademark symbol, spelling of the trademark, and generic term to use with the trademark. Generally, the symbol appears at the right shoulder of the trademark (except the Apple Logo, where the logo appears at the right foot).
Use the following formats for distribution within the United States only:
______ and ______ are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
______ and ______ are trademarks of Apple Inc.
For distribution outside the United States, use one of the following international credit notices:
______ and______ are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
______ and______ are trademarks of Apple Inc.
A translation of the legal notice and credit lines (but not the trademarks) can be used in materials distributed outside the U.S. Never translate an Apple trademark.
For more information on using Apple trademarks, see Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights.
Association with Apple
Your app screen images, Mac, Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV product images, or photographs thereof cannot be used in any manner that falsely suggests an association with Apple or is likely to reduce, diminish, or damage the goodwill, value, or reputation associated with the App Store, the Mac App Store, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch,Apple Watch,Apple TV, or Apple itself.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING APP STORE MARKETING ARTWORK LICENSE AGREEMENT (“MARKETING AGREEMENT”) CAREFULLY BEFORE DOWNLOADING OR USING THE APPLE ARTWORK (AS DEFINED BELOW). THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONSTITUTE A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APPLE.
BY CHECKING THE APPROPRIATE BOX IN THE APP STORE MARKETING GUIDELINES, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE FOR YOUR DEVELOPER ACCOUNT AND THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS MARKETING AGREEMENT.
App Store Marketing Artwork License Agreement
Whereas, Apple Inc. (“Apple”) and You (collectively, the “Parties”) have entered into the Apple Developer Program License Agreement (as amended from time to time, “Program Agreement”); and
Whereas, You desire to use certain artwork in connection with marketing Your applications available on the App Store pursuant to the Program Agreement, the Parties agree to enter into this Marketing Agreement effective as of the date clicked through by You. Except as expressed in writing herein, nothing in this document shall be construed to modify the Program Agreement in any way.
1. Subject to the terms of this Marketing Agreement, Apple grants You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the App Store badge, the App Store icon, and certain product images provided to You by Apple under this Marketing Agreement for Apple-branded products running iOS, watchOS, tvOS, or macOS (or any successor thereto) (collectively, the “Artwork”) only in connection with Your applications that are available for download on the App Store (“Applications”) and only while You are a member of the Apple Developer Program.
2. You agree that Your use of the Artwork will be in strict compliance with the App Store Marketing and Advertising Guidelines for Developers found at https://developer.apple.com/app-store/marketing/guidelines/, which may be amended from time to time and also with Apple’s Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights, found at https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/guidelinesfor3rdparties.html, which may be amended from time to time.
3. Apple may use Your name and the name of each of Your Applications in any index of products or developers that work with Apple-branded products running iOS, watchOS, tvOS, or macOS.
4. Apple has no obligation to provide any type of support for the Applications.
5. Upon Apple’s request, You shall supply Apple, at no cost and with no obligation to return, suitable specimens of Your use of the Artwork to verify Your compliance with this Marketing Agreement.
6. Apple shall remain the exclusive owner of all rights in the Artwork. Your use of the Artwork shall exclusively inure to the benefit of Apple. You will not do anything to compromise Apple’s rights in and to the Artwork, such as filing any identical or confusingly similar trademark applications anywhere in the world.
7. THE ARTWORK IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR USE OF THE ARTWORK. APPLE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ARTWORK, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. APPLE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE ARTWORK, OR TERMINATION OF THIS MARKETING AGREEMENT.
8. To the extent permitted by applicable law, You agree to indemnify and hold harmless, and upon Apple’s request, defend, Apple, its directors, officers, employees, independent contractors and agents (each an 'Apple Indemnified Party') from any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, taxes, expenses and costs, including without limitation, attorneys’ fees and court costs, incurred by an Apple Indemnified Party and arising from or related to Your use of the Artwork in any manner except as expressly permitted by this Marketing Agreement, or for any personal injury, product liability or other claim arising from the production, promotion, distribution, sale and/or offer for sale, and/or the performance of the Applications.
9. This Marketing Agreement is valid and coterminous with the Program Agreement, unless otherwise terminated per the provisions below.
10. This Marketing Agreement shall terminate automatically upon Your breach of any of the terms of this Marketing Agreement. Apple may terminate this Marketing Agreement at will upon 10 days’ written notice. If Apple terminates this Marketing Agreement, You may, except in the event that the Artwork is subject of a claim of infringement, deplete existing inventory for a period of 30 days following the notice of termination, provided such inventory is in compliance with the terms of this Marketing Agreement.
11. Any litigation or other dispute resolution between You and Apple arising out of or relating to this Marketing Agreement will take place in the Northern District of California, and You and Apple hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue in the state and federal courts within that District with respect any such litigation or dispute resolution. This Marketing Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of California, except that body of California law concerning conflicts of law.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if You are an agency, instrumentality or department of the federal government of the United States, then this Marketing Agreement shall be governed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America, and in the absence of applicable federal law, the laws of the State of California will apply. Further, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Marketing Agreement (including but not limited to Section 8), all claims, demands, complaints and disputes will be subject to the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. §§601-613), the Tucker Act (28 U.S.C. § 1346(a) and § 1491), or the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2401-2402, 2671-2672, 2674-2680), as applicable, or other applicable governing authority.
If You (as an entity entering into this Marketing Agreement) are a U.S. public and accredited educational institution, then (a) this Marketing Agreement will be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the state (within the U.S.) in which Your educational institution is domiciled, except that body of state law concerning conflicts of law; and (b) any litigation or other dispute resolution between You and Apple arising out of or relating to this Marketing Agreement will take place in federal court within the Northern District of California, and You and Apple hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of and exclusive venue of such District unless such consent is expressly prohibited by the laws of the state in which Your educational institution is domiciled.
This Marketing Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which is expressly excluded. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds any clause of this Marketing Agreement to be unenforceable for any reason, that clause of this Marketing Agreement shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of this Marketing Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
12. You shall promptly notify Apple in writing of any change in Your physical or electronic address via the App Store Connect tool and/or the Apple Developer website.
13. The terms of this Marketing Agreement are the entire and final understanding between You and Apple concerning the Artwork.
EA0861
08/15/17
Recent activities by Apple provide signals businesses should consider using Progressive Web Applications instead of native apps for iOS 13.
These actions include purging existing apps from the store and blocking access to other, corporate applications. At the same time they have begun adding support for service workers and the web manifest specification to iOS Safari.
Apple has been aggressively dumping apps from the iOS App Store because they use app generation or template based services. Apple cites section 4.2.6 of their App Store review guidelines. as an excuse to remove these apps.
'4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected.'
The crackdown started at the 2017 Apple Developer Conference. That is when they announced the section 4.2.6 changes to their review guidelines.
Apple iphone os download. Since the conference Apple used the 4.2.6 rule as cause to cleanse the App Store They have removed a large amount of apps considered to be clones, copies, fraudulent, abandoned or not 64-bit compatible. This action is not considered something that would affect legitimate business trying to engage customers. It is merely an act of cleaning house of bad clutter.
But here is the problem.
Apple used very generic terms. They have left the definition of what an app generation service is open ended.
This is intentional so Apple can use this clause and several others in their review guidelines to reject any app they simply do not want.
You're probably wondering:
'Is Apple about to dump apps built with frameworks like Ionic, React Native or Cordova?'
The answer is probably yes!
A more recent post by the Apple developer team emphasizes that all code in an iOS app must be self contained and not use external application code.
Apps that provide core features and functionality dynamically with web technology like HTML5 are best delivered to everyone in Safari, rather than through the curated App Store.
If you read their submission guidelines they are clearly within their rights to dump your Cordova app. All they have to do is cite the 'repackaged web site' clause.
'Your app should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website.'
Just my opinion, but probably 90% or more of the apps in the iOS App Store could be affected by this clause. Not because they are hybrid apps or created with React Native, but because they are not app-like.
If you read further in their latest updates they are not saying being a hybrid app will get you tossed or excluded, yet, but they are certainly tightening the allowed range.
Are You 'App-Like'?
The Apple app guidelines go on to require your app to be 'app-like'.
'If your app is not particularly useful, unique, or “app-like,” it doesn’t belong on the App Store.'
What does that mean?
I struggled to find a formal definition of app-like. But let me speculate.
I mean the Apple guidelines are vague, so why not just make up a definition?
In the eyes of Apple a web site just provides information, maybe a few input forms, not much else. An app has application like features. Again ambiguous.
One of the many apps now being rejected is one from Neo Gourmet. They were rejected twice and Apple suggested it would was more appropriate to be a web app instead.
And as I read the description of the Neo Gourmet app it should be a web app, a progressive web app. It allowed online ordering and delivery tracking for customers. It also utilized messaging to place orders via voice communication. All these features the web supports.
It also has a 'private' app for the delivery drivers. Again something the web can do well.
I mean we use administrative and line of business web apps every day.
Maybe Safari is not the best platform for these features, but they can all be done through Safari.
Applications tend to be tools, something used to accomplish one or more tasks. Software like spreadsheets and word processes are obvious examples. As Microsoft and Google have shown, these office productivity tools can do quite well on the web.
Reading through the guidelines Apple is looking for applications that are not what they consider replication of a web site and also offer some form of unique value. Again a subjective attribute.
To borrow from their language about what is offensive, you know an app when you see it.
But it gets worse:
Apple continues with vague definitions as reasons to reject applications:
'If your App doesn't provide some sort of lasting entertainment value, or is just plain creepy, it may not be accepted.'
How does Apple determine what is entertaining. I mean I find a lot of things very entertaining shows and movies my wife thinks are stupid, like the History Channel's Ancient Aliens series. To be fair she has shows I don't find entertaining, so we are even.
The point here is what I and my target audience find entertaining, the Apple censors may not. In fact these guidelines are just vague enough they could dump any app they don't like. Or maybe they think it might compete with their own apps, just a thought.
Apple Blocks Enterprise Apps
Recently Apple revoked certificates for both Google and Facebook that caused their internal, enterprise applications to stop working. In both cases Google and Facebook had explicitly broken the rules for Apple's enterprise and developer program, so they deserved to be revoke.
For clarity, the terms of the program prohibit the distributions of iOS applications outside the store to general consumers. Both companies had done this with special marketing apps they were using with a select set of 'customers'.
I don't fault Apple in this scenario, they did nothing wrong. But it demonstrates how outsourcing control of your business applications to a third party like Apple can be unreliable.
One of the many reasons why I trust the web over native apps.
Google Is Also Rejecting Apps
Google has been busy rejecting and removing apps from the play store too. Their reasons are slightly different. They are fighting malware, which is a good thing.
'The number of rejected app submissions increased by more than 55 percent, and we increased app suspensions by more than 66 percent.'
This is good because it means you have less competition for the few eyes available for your app.
This is not exactly what Apple has been doing and should not affect legitimate businesses.
Should You Even Have An App?
Before your blood pressure rises think.
Does your online presence need to be an app?
How to Progressive Web Applications compare to native apps?
The web can handle many advanced user experience expectations. Spreadsheets, word processors and other productivity tools are available as web applications, like Office 365 and Google Docs.
The general market segment this affects are small businesses that have fallen victim to the 'we must have a mobile app' mania.
Developing a native app is expensive and small businesses and individuals cannot afford the financial investment. Compound this expense by three, iPhone, iPad and Android and the barrier to entry is high.
Native application development and maintenance costs vary wildly, based on your quality expectations and requirements. And yes the same can be said about the web.
Estimates I have seen range from a few thousand to millions of dollars. Most of your development and overheads are consumed by your back-end or server-side infrastructure. The mobile apps are just a portion.
But it does not stop there. More fees are just around the corner.
You must also pay the stores to be included.
Apple charges $99 a year, Google charges a one time $25 fee. But the stores also take 30% of your pre-tax app revenue.
This makes app generation services that charge a few hundred dollars a year to have a simple, informational app with a form or two very attractive small businesses. The niches often cited are restaurants, fitness gyms, Realtors, churches and other more locally focus businesses.
More and more businesses are expressing public outrage at Apple's App Store policies, specifically the 30% in app purchase requirement. BaseCamp, Spotify, Match Group and FortNite are just a handful of the prominent brands. Thousands of smaller companies are also upset and looking for alternatives.
A recent TechCrunch article agrees these restrictions affect small businesses the most:
'What's unfortunate about the expanded policy enforcement is that these app makers specifically target the small business market. They build apps for businesses that don't have the internal resources to build their own apps or can't afford to hire a custom shop to design a new iOS app from scratch.'
This action has attracted the attention of a California congressman, Ted Lieu, who has sent a request to Apple to reconsider their decision.
Companies that generate these applications are also starting to shut down. Shoutem has already closed down due to the Apple policy changes.
Others, like AppMachine, have announced they are halting their services while they figure out a new strategy.
'Even through all these changes, we started seeing rejections of apps that we consider to be perfectly in line with the Apple guidelines, especially apps that are being built in specific categories such as Restaurant/Cafe, Sport and Brochure apps, amongst others.'
Developing an application is just the start. You must meet a minimum 'standard' to be considered entry to the App Store Think about the review guidelines like a bouncer outside the hot night club. If you are not on the list or not 'hot enough' you can't get past the velvet rope.
Your app could be rejected just because the app store reviewer feels like there are already enough apps in your category. You may have the best app, but no one would ever have a chance to know.
Once in the store life may not be as exciting as they imagined. Attracting customers is very difficult. In fact 8 out of 10 apps never make any money.
This is primarily due to app fatigue. Basically everyone is tired of downloading apps. In fact no one does anymore.
According to ComScore the average mobile user downloads zero apps in a given month. In fact its about 48% that download an app.
I perform anecdotal surveys of my 'normal' (non-techie) friends. They almost always tell me they have not downloaded an app in a while. Many cannot recall the last time they downloaded an app.
Most app download activity is restricted to their kids downloading free games to play.
Even if you can get someone to download your app, less than 10% of those will use your app more than once. Typically after three months, collecting dust on their device's home screen, most apps are deleted.
App Discovery Issues
Since the introduction of the App Store, discovery has been a major issue. Apple never did a respectable job building search capabilities in the platform. This makes finding applications that are not already popular difficult.
This has lead to increased advertising costs to coax users to download mobile apps. Estimates tell us you need to spend between $2.50-$15 for a single app download. When you consider 10% will use your app after it is downloaded, that means a true customer acquisition costs rages from $25-$150.
Compare that to the pennies or sometimes fraction of pennies it costs me to drive traffic to web content. Plus the free traffic I earn through organic search listings. And that is the key phrase, organic search listings. There is not true app store SEO.
App Stores have not developed formal search engine capabilities. Often apps returned are already 'popular' Meaning they have many downloads, reviews and ratings. While these signals are good indicators of app popularity, it does not mean they are good. It also makes launching a new application tough.
And yes, earning organic search engine placement for a new web page or site is not easy. It can be done and for much less effort.
This paints a very bleak story for businesses seeking a coveted spot on customer phones.
But what if there is a better way?
Outsourcing Control of Your Brand to a Store
App discovery is one thing, but what about your app just being removed?
This happens from time to time with App Stores. For example, a recent iOS update caused many installed applications to be inaccessible.
The nice thing about the web is, unless your server goes down or the user is offline anyone can access your application. If they have visited and you have a service worker with caching logic they can still use your PWA even without the network or server.
PWAs allow you to remove third parties from controlling your application discoverability and distribution.
Progressive Web Apps Provide Businesses Affordable Mobile Presence
The web is a rich platform, providing capabilities on par with native apps. yet they retain their ability to be found and share deep content links. This means you can add a new page to your site and drive targeted traffic directly to that content.
The web is a fantastic application platform. It always has been. But today it is better than it ever was.
Today, the web has added many great new features you may not know about. For example native push notifications.
Push, offline caching and other new features are enabled by service workers, which run in the background and offer a new extension to provide 'disconnected' capabilities.
Progressive web applications (PWA) are a newer class of web site. They are fast, reliable, secure and engaging. Behind the scenes they are served using HTTPS, have a valid web manifest file and a registered service worker. These are the core technical requirements.
But the real definition of a progressive web app is a web site that leverages the best platform features to deliver the best user experience. Ultimately this experience is on par with native apps.
Part of that experience is the ability of your site to earn a place on the customer's home screen. When launched from the home screen these web sites run just like a native applications. No browser chrome necessary.
But here is the real value PWAs offer:
The ability to cheaply engage customers without the friction and censorship inherent with native apps. You can publish anything you want, anytime and the public is free to determine if you are worthy of their trust, not an arbitrary person at Apple, Google or Microsoft.
The next great thing about progressive web apps is they are much more affordable to develop. If you already have a web site you can be a progressive web application easier than you think. You wont need to create anything new, just add some capabilities. In fact you could upgrade in as little 15 minutes.
But here's the thing.
I see Apple doing businesses a favor by rejecting apps that should be progressive web apps. I think this is a business move on their part.
It is expensive for them to host and manage these applications. Even though they charge an annual fee it is not a high enough margin to make the service attractive enough for Apple.
Plus I think they are finally admitting what I have been saying for years, the majority of mobile apps are just web sites or should be a web site.
Today Apple is finally doing the right thing.
They are eliminating the presence of web apps from the App Store. I think they also see where progressive web apps are going. They will replace just about all native apps in the near future.
Apple Safari's recent activity of shipping service worker and web manifest support in iOS 11.3 and Safari 13 is another positive signal that Apple is embracing Progressive Web Apps.
Microsoft is encouraging businesses to submit their progressive web app to the Microsoft store. Doing so gives your application full access to the Windows platform APIs.
Android now instantly makes PWAs webapks when added to the home screen. A webapk is a native Android app without going through the store or being compiled to an executable. It is similar to a hybrid app made by Cordova.
Now you can take it one step further and submit your PWA to the Android Play Store, giving you yet another distribution channel.
The only difference with the Microsoft strategy and webapks is they don't have access to the platform APIs.. Yet.
They are executed like a native Android application.
But Apple Does Not Support Progressive Web Apps..Or Does It?
Recent changes on iOS and Safari made PWAs a natural fit on Apple's mobile platforms. In early 2018 Apple shipped support for basic service workers and caching. Service workers combined with the traditional mobile web app capabilities made iOS a fine progressive web app platform.
There are a few limitations, like limited cache capacity. 50MB is not a lot, but enough for most sites to at least cache placeholder images and necessary HTML, CSS and JavaScript to drive a reasonable offline experience.
If you need more storage you can build an intelligent caching system to leverage IndexedDB, which can give you 500MB or more of additional storage, which is available to service workers.
There are some drawbacks. You cannot do native push notifications. You can do web notifications and use SMS notifications. In fact I have read some studies that show SMS has 3 times the engagement rates push messages have, so maybe they should be the primary notification channel.
Even though Apple does not fully support the web manifest they have always supported web app features and an add to home screen story. In fact this was the original way Apple recommended apps be created for iPhones. That plumbing still works to this day. In fact I have been using it to create an add to home screen experience for over 7 years now.
PWAs on iOS Work Great and in Browsers Without Service Workers
Progressive web applications are about delivering great user experiences that progressively utilize platform features as they are supported. If you follow web development best practices your web experience delivers impressive KPI values.
Many businesses that have already shipped progressive web application solutions are reporting impressive returns on iOS. These include higher sales, more customers and higher customer engagement stats.
AliExpress reported an 82% increase in iOS conversions. The Washington Post increased user engagements nearly 5x.
I don't want to portray PWAs as a panacea on iOS, they are not perfect. And that is really Apple's fault.
Up to this point they have delivered a rather crippled PWA experience. This includes minimal cache capacity, purging 'unused apps' and not really supporting a strong add to homescreen story.
Apple Has PWA Support
In August 2018 Apple started work on service worker support. Production support followed that December. They also started work on web manifest support, which we can see initial usage when a PWA is added to the homescreen. Now, instead of bookmarking the current page you should see a homescreen PWA launch from the manifest start_url.
The two key missing PWA features in Safari were service workers and manifest. We still don't have 100% coverage for both, per se. Push notifications are not yet supported and we don't 100% know if the web manifest file is being used yet.
Apple also chose to limit service worker cache capacity to 50MB and not the sliding scale other browsers have adopted. This does not mean service worker cache is not usable, instead you have a vast storage channel in IndexedDB.
While we don't know they will ship support, we know they will. We also don't know what their add to home screen experience will look like or if they will include push notifications in the first release. But I will take what I can get.
Apple App Store Website
If you architect your site correctly it will just naturally take advantages of these features when they are available. You won't have to change your code.
Summary
If you have a web site you have all you need to be the app you think you want. If you have not already upgraded to HTTPS go ahead and do so. Add a web manifest file to your site. Then create and register a service worker. The service worker does not even need to do anything at first, just create one and see where things go.
Are you a business that wants to upgrade to a progressive web app, been considering an app in the App Store or maybe you are in jeopardy of being rejected or removed, contact us for a free consultation. We would be more than happy to help you start your journey as a progressive web application.
Before you go down the road to the App Store, stop and ask yourself if you can be a progressive web app today without the getting hassled by Apple.
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