App Store: Apple manufactures spring cleaning

Apple is preparing to remove apps that have not been updated for years from the App Store. In recent days many developers have received warnings for this effect. “This application has not been updated for a long time and will be removed from sale in 30 days”, Says Apple by email. The application will only be available in the store if it is updated within these 30 days.

This sweep is not new: since 2016, Apple’s first major cleanup in the App Store, a Provides arrangement Than applications “No longer functional as intended, does not meet current assessment criteria or is obsolete” Will be deleted. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

Apple’s option to provide its customers with a well-maintained App Store justifies this forced retirement of “old” applications (which are still available on users’ terminals that have already been downloaded). “Functional and updated”. Google will do the same on its platform from this fall, removing apps in the Play Store that have not been updated to the latest version of Android.

I feel unwell. Apple emailed me saying it would remove my free game Motivot because it is over 2 years old.

It is part of their application development system.

It’s not cold. Console games have been on sale since 2000.

This is an unreasonable barrier for the Indie Devs. pic.twitter.com/7XNcLfiEcR

– Protopop Games (@protopop) April 23, 2022

Although this measure is taken for the benefit of the consumer, it is not unanimous. “This is an unreasonable barrier for freelancers.”, For example, video game developer Robert Capeway notes that console games from the 2000s are still on sale. This argument would not be ideal because the consoles of the 2000s did not develop like mobile platforms. Apple is giving this final warning to developers to adapt their apps to new screen sizes and other iOS changes.

“Games are finished objects! These free programs are not suitable for updates, they are works of art that have been completed for many years.Argues for his part Emilia Laser-WalkerOne of its creation was affected by the withdrawal. ” [Mon app] No crash reports, not downloaded by users for five years, no need for a v2, but Apple decides it’s time to get it backExplains for his part Simon Parker.

The thing that annoys the developers involved is that the sweep is done in obscure ways: like apps that have been abandoned for longer than applications Pocket God Avoid feather dust, which has not been renewed since 2015.

If it fails to provide the option to retain “outdated” applications, Apple will clarify its terms to allow developers to better understand what to expect. Google did just that by announcing that it would take less than two years for the API app to reach the Android Play Store.