Yesterday Apple notified indie developed James Thomson that he would have to remove the iOS 8 widget from his calculator app, PCalc. After the news received a good amount of backlash and press attention, Apple has reversed its stance on the issue.
Apple had told Thomson that his widget could be used to enter calculations but not actually perform them; calculations had to be saved for the PCalc app itself. That kind of defeats the whole purpose of the widget (which Apple has been featuring in the App Store since iOS 8 launched) to begin with.
Thomson voiced his sadness about the new rule on Twitter yesterday, and today TechCrunch reported that Apple has changed its mind:
From our understanding, the calculator use case was not one that Apple had anticipated, which is why an App Store reviewer originally explained to Thomson that he would need to adjust the app, or risk being pulled from the App Store.
Thomson was given a couple of weeks to remove the widget or face PCalc getting kicked off the App Store. Now he’s safe to keep the widget in the app.
Just had a phone call from Apple – decision has been reversed, no changes required to PCalc’s widget. Thanks to everybody for their support!
— James Thomson (@jamesthomson) October 30, 2014
This whole PCalc saga goes to show how quickly apps can fall in and out of Apple’s good graces. The App Store is not ruled by a democracy, and sometimes you’re just lucky to be shown a little mercy.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
2 responses to “Apple reverses stance on weird iOS calculator widget ban”
A better decision would have been to allow us to replace Apple’s calculator in the Control Center with the calculator of our choice.
Good idea but don’t think this will ever happen because Apple would want to maintain consistency in look and feel for the Control Center.