dantheman827

AppleInsider said:

The developer of Gameboy emulator GBA4iOS says the top-ranking version on the App Store is a fraudulent knock off of his work that Apple should not have approved.

Emulator app iGBA is accused of copying another developer's work without license

Shortly after Apple changed its App Store rules to allow for game console emulators to be submitted, the first few are beginning to become available. However, one of them, iGBA, is now accused of being a knock-off of GBA4iOS by Riley Testut.

Posting on Mastodon, Testut goes on to say that he is not criticizing iGBA developer Mattia La Spina, only Apple. He is frustrated that "Apple took the time to change the App Store rules to allow emulators, and then approved a knock-off of my own app -- even though I've been ready to launch Alt Store with Delta since March 5."

Alt Store has reportedly been in Testflight for a year. So an App Store reviewer would have had the ability and time to compare iGBA with Delta, Testut's latest version of GBA4iOS, if they knew to look.

With thousands of apps being submitted, it's easy to see how one reviewer could miss that a near-identical app was in Testflight. However, AppleInsider confirms that there are elements of iGBA that should have raised concerns at the review stage.

For instance, the app features location tracking when there is no game-related reason for it. Plus users report that the game, while free to download, is replete with ads.

Testut does make his code open-source, but there is a condition that limits the license.

"I explicitly give permission for anyone to use, modify, and distribute all my original code for this project in any form, with or without attribution, without fear of legal consequences," says his licence on Github "unless you plan to submit your app to Apple's App Store, in which case written permission from me is explicitly required."

Neither Apple nor the developer of iGBA have commented publicly.

However, this is a further example of apps, even fraudulent ones, getting on the App Store when Apple's review team should catch them. It comes, too, as Apple decries having been forced to allow alternative app stores in the EU, because it says that they are inherently unsafe.



Read on AppleInsider

genovelle said:

dantheman827 said:

I call BS, this think tank is probably funded by Google / Apple

Do I agree with forcing companies to allow other payment methods inside of their App Store? Absolutely not.

Do I think developers should be able to publish software outside of the App Store that Apple deems unsuitable for it? Absolutely, yes!

Customers having a side-channel will allow developers to publish software that Apple doesn't want on the App Store, it will allow apps like emulators, game streaming, Kodi, "adult" apps, and any software that Apple may decide they don't want available to iOS users in the future.

Them blocking game streaming is  anti-trust and I don't know how they haven't been sued for it.

Them blocking emulators serves no purpose for the consumer other than to encourage them to buy new games on the App Store, possibly ports of the old games they already own copies of.

They can publish them outside the AppStore using their own technology or webapp. 

dewme said:

I really hope we don't end up in a "race to the bottom" with app stores. I remember a time when we had full service department stores staffed with people who actually could help you with purchase decisions by being knowledgeable about the products they were selling. These middlemen in the sales channel added a bit to the cost but they also added value for most shoppers.

Apple's App Store adds value, both in terms of establishing a high level of confidence that the app does what it says it does and that it doesn't leave poop skid marks all over you or your device. The moderated review system helps separate the wheat from the chaff. Is it perfect? No, but it's more than worth the added cost we're paying for the apps we buy from the App Store, even when they are free.

The race to the bottom in other "stores" has left us with Amazon and its sketchy review process, Super Walmarts as a dumping ground for China's wares, Big Box-o-Ramas where you get to play warehouse worker for a day, and my personal favorite, a "Dollar" type store on every-other intersection, all staffed by customer service agnostic people who by-and-large have absolutely no knowledge about what they are selling scanning at the POS checkout. We've saved a few dollars by stripping all semblance of professionalism and customer service out of the sales channel so we can maintain the lowest possible pricing and by building all products wherever and by whomever it's as cheap as humanly robotically possible.

I'm just not feeling the need for yet another institution that has served customers so well descending into the crappification tarpit that all races to the bottom eventually end up in.  

Roderikus said:

If you can’t maintain a virtual store while upgrading, you shouldn’t be in the online business.

foregoneconclusion said:

brian.on.android said:

The thing with Apple is they've gotten big enough that their gatekeeping is becoming a problem. I don't like the idea that long term all things tech in the US comes from and is dictated by Apple.

And yet Epic can't actually provide any evidence of a "problem" for Fortnite. They were free to pick and choose which sections of the gaming market would have access to Fortnite. They chose Playstation, Xbox, Windows PCs, iOS/Android. They monetized the game in the same way on all of those platforms: virtual currency that would require a commission payment if purchased in-app OR no commission requirement if purchased online or in a retail store. 

AUsername said:

Does the developer want Apple to personally stalk him look at everything he does and compare to everything submitted to the App Store by everyone ever just on the off chance someone copies him? He needs to take action himself against the person who submitted the emulator that used his code without permission if they refuse to cease use of it. He can also advise Apple of it requesting a take down, but it’s not Apple’s job to monitor every possible copyright violation ever, who does this guy think he is?

spock1234 said:

Hey Dorsey, Remember what you told regular Americans who didn't like what you were doing at Twitter - "If you don't like it, go build your own social media site"? Time to take your own advice. Go build your own App store, you entitled pr!ck.