With iOS 8, Apple has been showing a lot more indecision about what kind of app extensions, keyboards, and widgets are and aren’t allowed under the developer guidelines. This has caused even popular apps like PCalc and Drafts to have to scale back features, because they have inadvertently stepped over some invisible line in Apple’s mind about what a third-party app should be allowed to do.
Now, there’s another fatality of Apple’s weird App Store waffling. Jormy, the developer behind the popular (and absolutely insane) iOS 8 keyboard Nintype, has been informed by Apple that he needs to remove one of his app’s most useful functions in a future update.
One of Nintype’s many useful features is a built-in calculator, so if you’re typing to someone and need to make a quick calculation, you don’t have to quit out to a separate app. It was extremely useful, so of course, Apple wants it killed:
Apple called again. Apparently I'm to remove the calculator from the keyboard extension. I guess it'll be there no more.
— Jormy of House Greyjoy (@jormy) December 16, 2014
So the reason I was given was that "completing calculations" is "not an appropriate use of App Extensions"
— Jormy of House Greyjoy (@jormy) December 16, 2014
Which is, of course, ridiculous, and sounds very much like one of the many “unwritten rules” developers have been falling afoul of since iOS 8 was first released in September.
Nintype is a great app, and the built-in calculator is one of itss best features: here’s hoping that Apple changes their tune.