Apple Borrows iOS 5's Wi-Fi Sync From Rejected App Submission

It's no secret that Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 incorporates a lot of new features and ideas that might say the company "borrowed" from third-party developers, but one feature in particular is raising some eyebrows: Wi-Fi Sync.

Way back in April 2010, we profiled an app called Wi-Fi Sync that allowed users to sync their iOS devices wirelessly to iTunes. The application was submitted to Apple for inclusion in the App Store, but it was rejected. The developer subsequently released the app into the Cydia store for jailbroken devices, where it has been selling well at a $9.99 price point.

As noted by TUAW, Apple's Wi-Fi sync feature enabled by the combination of iOS 5 and iTunes 10.5 bears a strong resemblance to the original third-party app, right down to the name and the design of the icon Apple is using to promote it.

OK, so maybe Apple was working on this capability in April of 2010 when Hughes first submitted Wi-Fi Sync to the App Store. But is it a coincidence that the Apple Wi-Fi Sync icon is almost identical to the one that Hughes had a designer create for him last year? Check out Hughes' icon below at left, and Apple's new icon at right. Interesting...

The Register follows up with Greg Hughes, the developer of the original Wi-Fi Sync app, who notes that he was "fairly shocked" to see the similar feature make an appearance on Monday.

"Obviously I was fairly shocked," said Hughes, referring to his reaction on Monday when he saw the new feature promoted on Apple's website. "I'd been selling my app with that name and icon for at least a year. Apple knew that, as I'd submitted it to them, so it was surprising to see that."

Hughes notes that Apple took a special interest in his initial application, with a member of the developer relations team personally calling him to report the rejection and to say that the iPhone engineering team had looked at the application and had been impressed. Hughes says that Apple had also requested a copy of his curriculum vitae, suggesting that the company did have some interest in what he was up to.

In an email to a customer sent in June 2010 after the original Wi-Fi Sync application had been rejected, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that the company was planning to introduce a Wi-Fi syncing feature "someday", although he provided no indication of what stage of development the feature was at or when the company hoped to release it.

Top Rated Comments

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itsthenewdc

98 months ago

No.. they didn't borrow it from the rejected app.. They used two already universal/common logos already in Mac OS X and combined them to make sense of Wifi-Sync..

Rating: 19 Votes

mark.dillon

98 months ago

Seems simple to me:
[LIST=1]
* That Apple combined the Wifi icon with an iSync icon to create the icon for WI-FI SYNC shouldnt exactly be shocking.
* Apple has obviously been planning the ability to sync data over Wifi for a LONG time and had every right to reject his app based on that.
* Thats it. Done. :D

Rating: 18 Votes

nagromme

98 months ago

The creator of the app (who did something cool and I hope saw some success) “borrowed” Apple’s WiFi and Sync icons to make a WiFi Sync icon (not that others haven’t used those symbols too).

It’s absurd to think that iOS would never cut the cord as it evolved; that was inevitable regardless of the existence of this app. It was always a matter of time.

And it’s absurd to think that Apple should not have used their already-existing WiFi and Sync icons in combination, just because someone else already combined them! Should Apple have made up two entirely new, unknown symbols for this purpose, not matching the rest of Apple’s products?

Whose eyebrows are being raised by this? :p

Rating: 13 Votes

Northgrove

98 months ago

I think the icon may be coincidental.

Here's a Google search for "sync" icons:
http://www.google.com/search?q=sync&um=1&tbm=isch&source=lnt&tbs=isz:i&sa=X

And here's a Google search for "Wi-Fi" icons:
http://www.google.com/search?q=wi-fi&um=1&tbm=isch&source=lnt&tbs=isz:i&sa=X

The combination of the two would in many cases be just like this: a sync-encircled wi-fi icon.

There's not many other ways to design that icon, unless you're going for non-traditional designs.

Rating: 10 Votes

tempusfugit

98 months ago

It's important to note that cydia's wi-fi sync requires another program installed on your computer and generally speaking performs like ****.

Rating: 9 Votes

jdfwarrior

98 months ago

Ok so yeah to be fair the icons resemble each other but, that is the exact same wifi icon that Apple already uses, and the same sync icon Apple already uses just overlaying one another. I don't think this was Apple trying to steal the guys icon, this was them reusing icons they already had in use, plain and simple.

Rating: 9 Votes

chaos86

98 months ago

I bought that piece of crap app. It works, but there's nothing automated about it, it screws up your normal syncing, and runs a daemon that sometimes goes to 100% CPU until you force quit it. He released one version, never a single bugfix (for the OSX version), and charged $10. I bought it to support this independent developer who got rejected from the AppStore, and then he dropped the project entirely.

Rating: 8 Votes

chrmjenkins

98 months ago

Yeah, there's not really any other intuitive way to combine the sync and wifi logos into one icon.

Rating: 7 Votes

drivec

98 months ago

Borrowed? No.
The MobileMe and Apple Sync Logos are exactly like that sync symbol around it.
The WiFi symbol is exactly the same as the WiFi symbol on iOS devices. In fact, I'm willing to bet that they used the assets they already had to make this logo instead of making it from scratch.

Rating: 7 Votes

youcrazyboy

98 months ago

I'm sure Apple never thought of WiFi Sync b4 some frickin developer...it never entered their minds....a big fat W (hatever)

Rating: 7 Votes

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