Education
Apple is now encouraging developers trapped in the App Store jail to apply bug fixes to their users.
Apple's App Store rules have gained quite a bit of scrutiny in the last few months, and while it seems likely that Apple 's team will battle tooth and nail to stop undermining some of the key foundations in their Store economy , the company has revealed a minor policy update today that would ideally prevent customers from being stuck in the crossfire.
In a brief statement posted to their site today, Apple announced that they have revised the App Store review policy rules to encourage developers to continue submitting bug updates even though they are actually in a standoff with the product review team.
As Apple appears to be becoming much more proactive in pressuring developers to incorporate in-app payment systems into their applications, this move sets Apple up to prevent frustrating customers.
The text of the announcement reads that bug patches will no longer be postponed for violations of the rules for those relating to legal problems. Developers will not be allowed to send changes of new functionality or software improvements, the focus of this regulation shift is squarely on the security / usability front.
This move had already been announced in June.
This reform is unlikely to appease those looking for more dramatic reforms. In several ways, this move allows Apple to avoid being portrayed as a victim in modern developer skirmishes. The stars lined up for Apple to shot itself in the foot by not encouraging the developer to patch any bugs with their software whilst they were in a standoff with the business.
