Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple Continues War on Notification Center Widgets, Asks 'Drafts' to Remove Note Creation Feature
Apple is continuing to sort out its nebulous policies on Notification Center widgets, and has today told Drafts developer Agile Tortoise that the app's widget is not allowed to be used to create drafts or open the Drafts app.
In a tweet, developer Greg Pierce says that he's been asked to re-submit Drafts without functionality for opening the app or creating a new note, which essentially removes all of the features of the Notification Center Widget.
Like many other apps that have Notification Center widgets, the Drafts app widget lets users open the app directly, create a new draft, or create a new draft from what's on the clipboard. It has very little functionality in the Notification Center aside from simply opening up the Drafts app, which in the past, has seemed like an acceptable use of the Notification Center.
Pierce, however, says that he's been told that the Today view in the Notification Center is "for information presentation only," a point of view that would rule out nearly all Notification Center apps. As Pierce points out, there are several similar apps that offer the exact same widget function as Drafts, such as Evernote, which also allows users to launch the Evernote app and new notes and other content from within the Notification Center.
Drafts is one of a number of apps that have faced confusing rules and restrictions delivered by Apple's app review team. Back in October, Apple told the PCalc developers that calculator functions were not allowed in the Notification Center before changing its mind, and just a few weeks ago, Neato was told that it would have to remove the note taking functionality from its Notification Center widget.
Apple's App Extension Guidelines suggest that Notification Widgets should have a "simple, streamlined UI," and "a limited number of interactive items," but its vague language has led developers to spend time and effort creating a variety of useful functions that are ultimately disallowed as Apple aims to refine how it wants the Notification Center to be used.
It is not clear why Drafts has been singled out by Apple's app review team as it offers the same functionality as other widgets, but if the Drafts widget is removed, it's possible that many other similar widgets could be in danger of being in violation of the Notification Center widget rules.
Drafts can be downloaded from the App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]
In a tweet, developer Greg Pierce says that he's been asked to re-submit Drafts without functionality for opening the app or creating a new note, which essentially removes all of the features of the Notification Center Widget.
Welp. Enjoy the Drafts Today widget while it lasts. Apple has required me to re-submit w/o the buttons to create drafts or open the app…
— Greg Pierce (@agiletortoise) December 2, 2014Like many other apps that have Notification Center widgets, the Drafts app widget lets users open the app directly, create a new draft, or create a new draft from what's on the clipboard. It has very little functionality in the Notification Center aside from simply opening up the Drafts app, which in the past, has seemed like an acceptable use of the Notification Center.
Pierce, however, says that he's been told that the Today view in the Notification Center is "for information presentation only," a point of view that would rule out nearly all Notification Center apps. As Pierce points out, there are several similar apps that offer the exact same widget function as Drafts, such as Evernote, which also allows users to launch the Evernote app and new notes and other content from within the Notification Center.
Drafts is one of a number of apps that have faced confusing rules and restrictions delivered by Apple's app review team. Back in October, Apple told the PCalc developers that calculator functions were not allowed in the Notification Center before changing its mind, and just a few weeks ago, Neato was told that it would have to remove the note taking functionality from its Notification Center widget.
Apple's App Extension Guidelines suggest that Notification Widgets should have a "simple, streamlined UI," and "a limited number of interactive items," but its vague language has led developers to spend time and effort creating a variety of useful functions that are ultimately disallowed as Apple aims to refine how it wants the Notification Center to be used.
It is not clear why Drafts has been singled out by Apple's app review team as it offers the same functionality as other widgets, but if the Drafts widget is removed, it's possible that many other similar widgets could be in danger of being in violation of the Notification Center widget rules.
Drafts can be downloaded from the App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]
[ 151 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
60 months ago
The goal of the app store guidelines should be to ensure that malware/viruses and information stealing apps are not on the app store. This is just Apple's control freak.
60 months ago
Why not just let users install whatever and devs make whatever?
Because if an unknowing user installs an app that hinders the experience of iOS that makes iOS look bad. The average user will be like "Why does my phone look like this now!?" rather than "Why does this app make my phone look like this now?"
60 months ago
What annoys me the most is that they are letting the app through with these features initially. If they said no from the start I'd be less annoyed and understanding.
The fact they're taking U-turns is pathetic and they need to sort things out. Draw a line now and not annoy more people with these stupid rules that seem to apply whenever and wherever they like.
The fact they're taking U-turns is pathetic and they need to sort things out. Draw a line now and not annoy more people with these stupid rules that seem to apply whenever and wherever they like.
60 months ago
I'm surprised at the number of people who visit an Apple rumours website who are so misinformed about Apple's vision ...
60 months ago
If you want out of control UIs from an out of control mobile OS, you are more than free to buy a OnePlus One or a Samsung Galaxy.
60 months ago
Why not just let users install whatever and devs make whatever?
Then we end up with a load of crap apps, malware and other stuff.
I don't see what devs are finding so difficult about the Today view panel. The name "Today View" should be clear enough - it's for information related to "today". E.g. what is the status of my app "right now".
I partly blame apple for this though - they should have applied the rules consistently from the start, instead of annoying people months later.
60 months ago
The most shocking part of this story is that people are paying $10 for Drafts.
[ Read All Comments ]
Apple has reportedly stopped selling iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone 6s Plus in India, meaning anyone in the market for a new Apple smartphone will have to shell out more for a later...
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.6 update to developers, one week after seeding the fourth macOS Mojave 10.14.6 beta and two months after the release of macOS...
Twitter today announced the launch of a new Twitter.com experience on the desktop, which includes several new features and design changes.
The Twitter website on desktop has a whole new look...
Airmail users awoke today to find out that the popular email app has switched to a subscription-based pricing model on the iPhone and iPad.
Airmail for iOS is now free to download on the App...
An interesting piece of technology history was highlighted by The Verge over the weekend that may be of interest to Apple users both young and old.
Amateur computer historian Kevin Savetz...
It was another big week for Apple news this week, with Apple launching its annual Back to School promotion and taking the opportunity to update some of its lower-end Mac notebook lineup. The refresh...
There are a few deals going on as we head into the weekend, including an ongoing discount on the latest AirPods update, a sitewide discount on Pad & Quill, and deep discounts on Apple's iPad...
Apple and McDonald's have teamed up to offer free fries every Friday in July.
Today, and on July 19 and July 26, customers can use Apple Pay in the McDonald's app and get free medium...
