Roger Fingas
A number of iOS apps have been updated with new 3D Touch commands for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, including mainstays like Skype and Snapchat. Meanwhile, Apple has reportedly rejected an app called Gravity that attempted to use 3D Touch as a weight scale mechanism.
With Skype for iPhone, users can now press down on the app's homescreen icon to display a range of Quick Actions. Inside the app users can "peek" into shared locations, photos, contacts and URLs, as well as recent conversations, displaying instant messages or live video calls.
The latest Snapchat update adds a pair of Quick Actions, simply letting users send a chat or add a new friend. Amazon Music has likewise gained shortcuts, though the focus of the update is on new Play Queue functions.
One of the most significant updates is for Astro HQ's Astropad Mini, an app that allows iPhones to serve as drawing tablets for Mac apps like Photoshop and Lightroom. With 3D Touch support, drawing is pressure-sensitive without the need for a Bluetooth stylus.
On Gravity, developer Ryan McLeod said on Medium that the app was initially blocked from the App Store for having a "misleading description," which he speculated was because there are numerous fake scale apps sold as entertainment. Gravity didn't have such a disclaimer, since it actually works.
McLeod created a demonstration video and filed an appeal, but was later told over the phone that the concept of a scale app was not appropriate for the App Store.
Apple has a history of periodically rejecting apps that take its technologies in unexpected directions, one example being Launcher, which was briefly banned for offering a widget with customizable app shortcuts, but is now both available and fully functional.
Other reasons for Gravity's rejection however might include damage concerns — the app flashes a red warning light for objects over 385 grams — and potential associations with drug use. McLeod said he might like to resubmit one day after 3D Touch becomes more widespread.
Christine McKee
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18 Comments
That Gravity app is pretty sweet. I'd buy that.
ah, i just saw that app that weight fruit and such and apple band it. I guess it was not a good idea to demo it with a spoon and something in a spoon, Perfect for your street drug dealer. I could see our stupid government putting on the list of drug paraphernalia and people being arrest of posession of drug paraphernalia
I think the fatal flaw was the use of the spoon. I can't think of a reason why the spoon would be necessary for the app to work (indeed, I would think it would make the app less accurate), and it certainly conjures up images of heroin use.
Personally, I think Apple banned it to prevent knuckleheads from using an iPhone to weigh their airline luggage. It wouldn't surprise me that there are people stupid enough to try it, and then whine as to why Apple won't replace their damaged iPhone that "mysteriously" cracked.
After having this rejected I'd be broken up pretty bad...