Facebook iPhone Application Developer Quits Over Apple's Review Process

The developer behind the Facebook app says he's quit the project because off App Store policies. To TechCrunch he said:

"My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies. I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process. I am very concerned that they are setting a horrible precedent for other software platforms, and soon gatekeepers will start infesting the lives of every software developer.

The web is still unrestricted and free, and so I am returning to my roots as a web developer. In the long term, I would like to be able to say that I helped to make the web the best mobile platform available, rather than being part of the transition to a world where every developer must go through a middleman to get their software in the hands of users.”

The Facebook app is one of the most downloaded apps and is well-respected. Apple cannot afford to lose really good developers because of their lousy policies. This is going to have to cahnge because clearly there is something wrong here.

I do recall reading other developers expressing similar feelings.

wont miss him I think the Facebook app could be much better

wont miss him I think the Facebook app could be much better

Wow. Hewitt is one of the big developers on the iPhone. That's a pretty big loss for the iPhone man. Some seriously big shoes for the new developer to fill.

wont miss him I think the Facebook app could be much better

That may be true about the bugs but it's considered to be the best Facebook app on any mobile platform and he alone worked on it. He does say in his Twitter posts (@joehewitt) that bug fixes were already submitted and I believe push notifications as well.

When you hear stories, like this week and the political bobble head fiasco, you really wonder what is going on at Apple.

I see this as an excuse for the developer to explore new horizons. Was it not the same "middleman process" when he first submitted the FaceBook app?? I'm sure it was; however maybe the recent changes are slowing final development to fruition & consumption.

Still the web still has a LONG way to go to become so called "best mobile app" because not all data should be sourced in real time or pulled/pushed when needed by the user. Many places where wireless provider data is STILL not truely unlimited & thus restricted (Canadian providers ALL the incumbents STILL charge & cap a specific ceiling of 1-2GB monthly with few % on the offered/pulled 6gb of data; along with tethering restrictions/allowances and so called "fair use" policies).

There are many applications that serve just as well or better with a single burst of data for 1 time & initial requests. Only specific changes in data which wold affect users are required and incremental.

Some applications, like stock data for trading applications, world news events/reports - need and require a continuous stream of data. Issue is web based cloud "apps" (more like interfaces) change not only the data presented to the end user, but many times augmenting the GUI layout which most of the times is not needed; this lacks in efficient data streaming, and more data bucket usuage & costs to the end user.

There is a HUGE reason why WML/WAP1.1 failed, and why WAP2.0 is in a static state of developmental evolution and suits feature phones, and not smartphones.

Yes I'm aware of HTML5 and what GoogleWave presents - but it proves that the GUI layout consistently changes due to new data streams and provides great event notifications - but its NOT suited for a battery packing handheld smartphone/feature phone device. To put it simply developers that code specifically to the web think of Desktops/Laptops (and recently MIDS) First & Foremost; mobile is thought up of only after mass consumption of their work is taken noticed. THAT is the issue.

Smartphones are THE MOST PERSONAL and trusted computing platform and thus heavily guarded by the end user. As such there NEEDS to be some kind of regulation, to what extent can be argued and never resolved for the next 10yrs - but it cannot nor should NOT be left to the end user!

At one point in the future, a smartphones evolution as a mobile device to a lifestyle personal companion should be as easy, as free, and as care free to use as our voices, words and hands (in any language, context & intent) and evolve as such. The only limitations are common sense, experience, and specific laws & moral aptitude for their uses.

Wow, that is thinking different. I think I'm high!!
:apple:

I regard this as a loss if true. The Facebook application for iPhone is one of the most elegant I know of in terms of providing function in a nicely integrated package that is also nice to look at. Count me among those who thinks this is bad.

wont miss him I think the Facebook app could be much better

Do you actually know anything about him? He is a high profile developer that worked on the original Firefox and the firebug extension. If he quits, it means something is VERY wrong with the Apple approval process.

I have a strong feeling Apple gave him a hard time with an update to the app so he was like **** that, it is not worth it.

All software has bugs. It's a matter of prioritizing new features vs. bug fixes when one puts out new releases. For many (maybe even most) features or bug fixes you wanted, chances are he had thought of them and prioritized them rationally. I wouldn't burn him at the stake for not implementing something you wanted sooner. :)

Reading some of the posts about this on Twitter, it may (or may not be) about the Three20 project (Objective C library for developing iPhone apps) that was developed by Hewitt. It apparently was using private APIs and may have been getting other people's apps, who were using the code, rejected. Conceivably, the Facebook app could have been using the same private API calls and was continually getting rejected. Supposedly, Apple has some new way to check out if you're using these APIs. Hewitt may have just got fed up with the situation and decided to quit.