Katie MarsalApple's ability to process iPhone developer contracts is quickly turning into a minor crisis as what was once a smooth process is rapidly turning into a months-long backlog that threatens to keep new developers out of the App Store.
Where requests for an agreement once took as little as two days for Apple to handle in the early days of the iPhone SDK, coders speaking to AppleInsider and on the iPhone development boards are increasingly reporting delays in initial approval that have changed from days into months — even for free apps, which require less paperwork than commercial software.
"Many developers are pulling their hair out by the roots," one such producer tells AppleInsider. "Our corporate contract, submitted around December of last year, has yet to be approved after more than two months. And this is merely for a free app!"
This and other sources also report that many messages to Apple are either given a stock response apologizing for the wait or else receive no answer at all.
It's quickly becoming clear that the long hold times and silence on the matter stem from unpreparedness on Apple's part for the popularity of the App Store and the pressure it creates to renew its relationships with developers. A call by Ars Technica's Erica Sadun to the Apple Developer Connection has not only revealed that the company knows there are "many developers" either without contracts or facing expiry but that there isn't even a system by which Apple can renew its existing deals.
When that system will be put into place isn't known, though the ADC representative promises that Apple will at least avoid a crisis that would see older apps gradually vanish from the store as existing agreements come to an end. Any software that has already been approved will, reportedly, remain on the store even after its associated contract runs out.
That's little comfort to first-time developers, who are increasingly being discouraged by a process that in many cases prevents them from getting their first real foothold in the App Store. Without clear signs that Apple is addressing the problem, companies and individuals alike are questioning whether they should continue to produce iPhone apps in the first place.
"It makes it really tough to continue development," one developer says.
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62 Comments
... when they've set up such a Soviet system. Only one place to buy apps. Everything controlled by the Apple Kremlin.
I originally applied when Apple first announced it "in the early days of the iPhone SDK"... it took almost two months to be approved. I don't see any difference now. As with anything new, it's an inconsistent process full of wrinkles. It'll all get ironed out. I'm sure in another year or two, they won't have any problems with this process. Also, considering the number of developers that applied (and still applying), anyone who doesn't expect a delay is just kidding themselves.
Regardless of how any process or product is implemented, there's always going to be a certain percentage of people who have problems. There is no such thing as perfect and flawless for everyone.
... when they've set up such a Soviet system. Only one place to buy apps. Everything controlled by the Apple Kremlin.
So they can outlaw things that suck, and also things that don't benefit me as a stockholder. I approve!
Like Apple's iPhone cellular partner, AT&T, maybe Apple should consider a two year contract for app store developer contracts and their apps?! It would at least give a little breathing room before the whole cycle starts over.
It's only going to get worse for annual turnover when a year from now you have 50,000 - 75,000 apps in the store versus the 25,000 in there today. \
So they can outlaw things that suck, and also things that don't benefit me as a stockholder. I approve!
This isn't about that. It's about Apple potentially destroying the developer mindshare it brilliantly created when it opened the app store. Being a first-mover is key, but if another platform becomes more attractive to developers, it will take over. Apple should be KISSING THE BUTT of every iPhone developer, and spend copious cash on making sure the approval process is quick and transparent. This is really foolish on Apple's part and makes me wonder if they are really as well managed as it has seemed over the past eight years.