Apple Pulls 'FlexBright', Says iOS Apps That Adjust Display Temperature Aren't Allowed

[gimarbazat]

surprised that such app was approved given apple is implementing this feature in 9.3. Likely I downloaded it before they remove it.

 

[C DM]

Except that people on 32 bit devices can't run nightshift, and there are singifcnant numbers of people on 32 bit devices (around 50 percent of installed iPads)

There are probably still significant number of people running Windows XP but it doesn't mean that someone needs to support it. Options are weighed and decisions are made.
[doublepost=1457580375][/doublepost]

surprised that such app was approved given apple is implementing this feature in 9.3. Likely I downloaded it before they remove it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...perature-arent-allowed.1960416/#post-22652898

 

[Tycho24]

Android users are FAR more tech savvy. That's not even debatable. But the good thing is, Android is just as simple to use for noobs as iOS. Both my parents who are tech illiterate are able to get around their Android phones just fine.

This SUPER ignorant (& patently false) statement is so offensive, it honestly reminded me of this classic SNL skit:

*sigh*
It also calls to mind all the people that come in to my former workplace (cellphone / PC repairs) & gush about how their grandchildren know SO much about "all this technology", but they just don't understand it the way their grandkids do... then the kid walks in & he's a typical teenager; he couldn't code an app to save his life, couldn't walk you through the steps of the boot up process, couldn't even tell you the html for centering an image, nothing- ZERO "tech" skills or tech knowledge. Granny and Grampy's genuine ignorance of tech as a whole trick them into thinking junior is a genius because he can apply a filter in Snapchat. They can't recognize that he has an only slightly different level of tech ignorance. It's sad and sickening to me.
Similarly, shills or liars (or just those that grossly misunderstand reality... that's the one I'm going to assume you are), purport the garbage you just said- basically that, if someone can rearrange icons on an Android screen & install a launcher; they are soooo "tech savvy". Lol, you guys are all the same- pretending like Android users are all compiling all their own custom ROMs & stuff. It's embarrassing. NONE of your facts add up even remotely.
For example: in your above quote line one says Android users are way tech savvy.... then IMMEDIATELY negated by the fact that you say your tech illiterate parents are Android users. Lol. Way to argue both sides (accidentally?? I hope...).
Further... we know that the MAJORITY of smart phones sold are Android, soooooo for what you said to be true- the MAJORITY of the population would have to be tech savvy. I mean, you know that's not true, right? Right??!!
Or what about the fact that one of the reasons Android phones sell so much more are the fact that there are more than three price points?? So they are purchased even by the elderly that otherwise may not spend money on a smartphone, or the very young... that have no money whatsoever & must take whatever mom and dad are willing to buy (the cheapest option), & simply the very poor.
Do you posit that all of the elderly & the very young & the very poor also just happen to be "tech savvy"??
Lol... you're a riot!
Seriously. Stay away from ridiculous statements like the above quoted one.
You may as well have said something like "all left handed people use Blackberry"... it would have been just as preposterous & equally simple to negate with logic, anecdotal evidence, and sheer fact.

 

[electronicsguy]

Good. Apple has strict approval policies to maintain a certain quality of apps.

Of which Flexbright was not.

do you work for apple and are authorized to talk about their "strict" policies? if no, your opinion is just that.

 

[dweezle3]

You think using private APIs is ok? You think using silent audio to keep your app running is ok?

I think it's more about the fact that these types of workarounds are required for an app like this. Sure, private APIs aren't generally okay, but this is a function that can't be replicated with current public APIs. And I'm not aware of any way to keep apps in a fully functional state in the background other than by using silent audio. It seems to me that we should fault Apple for being so restricting rather than get upset at app developers who thought outside the box and innovated.

 

[Radon87000]

Because it's pointless to write new features for 32bit devices they don't even sell anymore? It costs money and time. Increases the amount of code required to support it for aging, obsolete devices. It's only a matter of 1-2 more iOS generations before its 64bit only, dropping all ancient 32bit code completely.
[doublepost=1457571719][/doublepost]

Why would you use an app that essentially never allows your phone to properly be put to sleep? That's ridiculous.

But then if someone else wants to give those users NightShift via an app why stop them?If you won't do it at least have the courtesy to let someone else do it

 

[lagwagon]

But then if someone else wants to give those users NightShift via an app why stop them?If you won't do it at least have the courtesy to let someone else do it

True. The API could and maybe should be open for use. But how FlexBright achieved it was shady and against the rules set. Using silent audio to remain running even when locked is just not right at all. It severely kills battery and never allows the phone to actually go into sleep.

 

[BeanieMan]

I still don't understand why Apple has a problem with this sort of app. I really think the whole iOS experience, supplemented with third party apps, would be so much better if it were more "anything goes" minus junk/virus apps.

 

[oldmacs]

There are probably still significant number of people running Windows XP but it doesn't mean that someone needs to support it. Options are weighed and decisions are made.

XP is a different situation. I was just commenting that people are going on about "why would you download flexbright when nightshift is coming" and I simply suggested that there are a significant number of people on devices that nightshift won't work on.

 

[bladerunner2000]

This SUPER ignorant (& patently false) statement is so offensive, it honestly reminded me of this classic SNL skit:

*sigh*
It also calls to mind all the people that come in to my former workplace (cellphone / PC repairs) & gush about how their grandchildren know SO much about "all this technology", but they just don't understand it the way their grandkids do... then the kid walks in & he's a typical teenager; he couldn't code an app to save his life, couldn't walk you through the steps of the boot up process, couldn't even tell you the html for centering an image, nothing- ZERO "tech" skills or tech knowledge. Granny and Grampy's genuine ignorance of tech as a whole trick them into thinking junior is a genius because he can apply a filter in Snapchat. They can't recognize that he has an only slightly different level of tech ignorance. It's sad and sickening to me.
Similarly, shills or liars (or just those that grossly misunderstand reality... that's the one I'm going to assume you are), purport the garbage you just said- basically that, if someone can rearrange icons on an Android screen & install a launcher; they are soooo "tech savvy". Lol, you guys are all the same- pretending like Android users are all compiling all their own custom ROMs & stuff. It's embarrassing. NONE of your facts add up even remotely.
For example: in your above quote line one says Android users are way tech savvy.... then IMMEDIATELY negated by the fact that you say your tech illiterate parents are Android users. Lol. Way to argue both sides (accidentally?? I hope...).
Further... we know that the MAJORITY of smart phones sold are Android, soooooo for what you said to be true- the MAJORITY of the population would have to be tech savvy. I mean, you know that's not true, right? Right??!!
Or what about the fact that one of the reasons Android phones sell so much more are the fact that there are more than three price points?? So they are purchased even by the elderly that otherwise may not spend money on a smartphone, or the very young... that have no money whatsoever & must take whatever mom and dad are willing to buy (the cheapest option), & simply the very poor.
Do you posit that all of the elderly & the very young & the very poor also just happen to be "tech savvy"??
Lol... you're a riot!
Seriously. Stay away from ridiculous statements like the above quoted one.
You may as well have said something like "all left handed people use Blackberry"... it would have been just as preposterous & equally simple to negate with logic, anecdotal evidence, and sheer fact.

Wow, meltdown.

 

[Menneisyys2]

This is nothing new. And with 9.3 on the horizon, it's not really necessary anyway, although it might be nice to have extra options like Flux provides on Mac.

and what about the 32-bit users?
[doublepost=1457586373][/doublepost]

Still waiting for the fake excuse about Night Shift not being supported on 32-bit devices.
f.lux working on them, this working on them, no technical reason in the horizon...

Apple wants you to upgrade to a 64-bit device. More $$$ for them...

 

[C DM]

But then if someone else wants to give those users NightShift via an app why stop them?If you won't do it at least have the courtesy to let someone else do it

Because system functionality of that type isn't something that is provided by 3rd party apps in iOS. It's basically been the case from the beginning with the way iOS is designed.
[doublepost=1457586823][/doublepost]

and what about the 32-bit users?
[doublepost=1457586373][/doublepost]

Apple wants you to upgrade to a 64-bit device. More $$$ for them...

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...re-arent-allowed.1960416/page-3#post-22653219

And

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...re-arent-allowed.1960416/page-4#post-22653571

 

[RedWing512]

i have no problem with this. i can only imagine the mess it would cause with the average user dealing with third party apps and the troubleshooting nightmare it would cause, especially on the eve of the feature being implemented in iOS 9.3...

imagine the average user complaining that their pictures look yellow or different and associating it with the camera or their screen and apple not being able to assume in any measure the fault of any one given app

Your reasoning only helps further perpetuate the idea that iPhones are for idiots.
[doublepost=1457587098][/doublepost]

Good. Apple has strict approval policies to maintain a certain quality of apps.

Of which Flexbright was not.

But the reason why Flexbright was of such quality was Apple's doing—I'm sure that if the dev was given access to the proper APIs, the app would have been better optimized.

Hell, I have a similar app on my Android that works quite well. No reason why Apple has to be so stingy here.

 

[Wondercow]

"For all intended purposes, FlexBright is dead," he said

I hole-hardedly agree, but allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment. For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong. In an age where false morals are a diamond dozen, true virtues are a blessing in the skies. We often put our false morality on a petal stool like a bunch of pre-Madonnas, but you all seem to be taking something very valuable for granite. So I ask of you to mustard up all the strength you can because it is a doggy dog world out there. Although there is some merit to what you are saying it seems like you have a huge ship on your shoulder. In your argument you seem to throw everything in but the kids Nsync, and even though you are having a feel day with this I am here to bring you back into reality. I have a sick sense when it comes to these types of things. It is almost spooky, because I cannot turn a blonde eye to these glaring flaws in your rhetoric. I have zero taller ants when it comes to people spouting out hate in the name of moral righteousness. You just need to remember what comes around is all around, and when supply and command fails you will be the first to go. Make my words, when you get down to brass stacks it doesn't take rocket appliances to get two birds stoned at once. It's clear who makes the pants in this relationship, and sometimes you just have to swallow your prize and accept the facts. You might have to come to this conclusion through denial and error but I swear on my mother's mating name that when you put the petal to the medal you will pass with flying carpets like it's a peach of cake.

 

[lagwagon]

I hole-hardedly agree, but allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment. For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong. In an age where false morals are a diamond dozen, true virtues are a blessing in the skies. We often put our false morality on a petal stool like a bunch of pre-Madonnas, but you all seem to be taking something very valuable for granite. So I ask of you to mustard up all the strength you can because it is a doggy dog world out there. Although there is some merit to what you are saying it seems like you have a huge ship on your shoulder. In your argument you seem to throw everything in but the kids Nsync, and even though you are having a feel day with this I am here to bring you back into reality. I have a sick sense when it comes to these types of things. It is almost spooky, because I cannot turn a blonde eye to these glaring flaws in your rhetoric. I have zero taller ants when it comes to people spouting out hate in the name of moral righteousness. You just need to remember what comes around is all around, and when supply and command fails you will be the first to go. Make my words, when you get down to brass stacks it doesn't take rocket appliances to get two birds stoned at once. It's clear who makes the pants in this relationship, and sometimes you just have to swallow your prize and accept the facts. You might have to come to this conclusion through denial and error but I swear on my mother's mating name that when you put the petal to the medal you will pass with flying carpets like it's a peach of cake.

All the Ricky misquotes on popular sayings references in this post makes it quite epic. And just might win this thread.

 

[tripmusic]

I mean what's the big deal, really? How many apps like this slip through the cracks? Probably more than we think. Is it really necessary for Apple to dedicate more to their review teams? They know that they'll find the app eventually and take it down if in violation. To Apple they're acceptable numbers in the grand scheme

 

[hanser]

Wow, meltdown.

No, he just totally destroyed your argumentation, using logic and facts. Accept it.

 

[manu chao]

I think it's more about the fact that these types of workarounds are required for an app like this. Sure, private APIs aren't generally okay, but this is a function that can't be replicated with current public APIs. And I'm not aware of any way to keep apps in a fully functional state in the background other than by using silent audio. It seems to me that we should fault Apple for being so restricting rather than get upset at app developers who thought outside the box and innovated.

I'm not sure f.lux on the Mac works without resorting to private APIs. There is certainly some hacking going that can run into some edge cases (eg, videos often have blown out highlights). In other words, f.lux likely wouldn't make it into the Mac App Store. So the question is do we throw out the concept of only allowing vetted and rule-conforming (eg, no private APIs) onto iOS devices?

Let's say we stick with a managed app store, then Apple should create APIs that make f.lux-like functionality possible. On the Mac that can be achieved via monitor profiles or rather a monitor profile-like system. And while third-party apps can set monitor profiles, I would assume a Mac App Store application would not be able to do so. My calibration software comes with a kernel extension (something that certainly isn't Mac App Store compatible) though that might be necessary for the calibration step and not the setting of a profile.

It perfectly imaginable that Apple could add a system that allows the user to set a monitor profile that is generated by a third-party app as an official way for a third-party app to influence the appearance other apps. But that wouldn't allow automatic switching, every change would be user-initiated. If Apple allowed automatic switching (triggered by third-party apps), this would have to be somewhere in System Preferences (eg, how third-party keyboards on iOS and monitor profiles on Macs are handled).

On background activity, I think not allowing apps permanent full live status is still the right decision given how limited battery life still is. And in regard to features at the OS level (where f.lux sits), I think we will continue to see Apple opening up things category by category (keyboards being an example) and not allowing any app to affect things system wide unless a specific exceptions exist (one of the first category were third-party apps could affect things system-wide was audio playback). I really don't think Apple should allow apps to do whatever they want. That leads to Apple having to explicitly creating new APIs for specific tasks (such as what f.lux does) and third-party developers not being able to implement any idea they come up with.

 

[moxin]

typical Apple.
oh what had happened to Apple these days they were an exciting company and used to build software and hardware that i used and loved.
now i have switched to Android (Moto X Pure) and i am not going back.

 

[MacBH928]

I know apple limits the device capabilities with such restrictions, but to be honest, its all there to make your device just work and nothing funny going around.

If you want your apps to play with your device's hardware, along with all the headache that it will come with it, you can always get an Android.

Its good that we have a choice

 

[Michael Goff]

and what about the 32-bit users?
[doublepost=1457586373][/doublepost]

Apple wants you to upgrade to a 64-bit device. More $$$ for them...

They have a choice, several. They could buy a new iPhone, not have this feature on their 3.5 yr old device, or they can switch to Android. As for the whole money point ... Yes, Apple is a company. Samsung also wants you to buy a new device. LG? Yep. The big difference, of course, is that with Apple you still get at least some support after three and a half years. Good luck getting Marshmallow in your phone from 2012.

But let's continue to act as though greedy Apple is just doing such a horrible thing by coding a new feature using a language that doesn't have a 32-bit version. And let's continue to act as though Apple are the only greedy ones.
[doublepost=1457598530][/doublepost]

typical Apple.
oh what had happened to Apple these days they were an exciting company and used to build software and hardware that i used and loved.
now i have switched to Android (Moto X Pure) and i am not going back.

If Apple doesn't build hardware or software you like, this forum seems like a weird choice of venue for you.

 

[DanTheAppleMan]

This seems familiar...

"...Some people use unpublished APIs and their app gets rejected. Some people submit an app that they say does one thing, but really does something else. They try to hide it from us, they get very clever about that. They try to hide it from us and we find it and we reject it. And they run to the press and tell a story about oppression and it gets written up and they get their 15 minutes of fame because they hope it will convince us to change our minds. It never does, but they keep trying to do that..." -Steve Jobs, All Things Digital D8 Conference

 

[Mums]

Apple is so full of itself when it does stuff like this. I hate to say this but I'm really glad that Microsoft is finally giving them a run for their money in the desktop and laptop space. Now with something like the Galaxy S7 from Samsung which has force touch and animated photos. Honestly Apple needs to mellow out a bit and let their app ecosystem flourish.

- Clarification - Force touch did not make it into the S7 or S7 Edge, though it is being tested for use in a future handset from Samsung.

If microsoft is giving Apple a "run for its money", it's only because Apple products have gone downhill. Microsoft was always crap.

 

[Tycho24]

Wow, meltdown.

Apologies...
I know if you're used to being coddled (like mommy & daddy never said no to you?) or you've only ever surrounded yourself with an echo chamber it could seem REALLY abrupt when you get confronted with the reality that the nonsense you spew is misinformation and lies and not everyone "suffers fools gladly".
This s a life defining moment however!
You can choose to better yourself & quit falsely believing that Mercedes drivers are CLEARLY much better mechanics than BMW drivers, or that Android users are CLEARLY more tech savvy than iOS users, or Pepsi drinkers are CLEARLY better chefs than Coke drinkers, or any other bizarre delusions you're under!!
You can stand under the umbrella of normalcy with the rest of us... to feel superior in your intellect, you can start learning all the "word of the day" from the dictionary.com app or something, instead of pretending like intelligence magically washes over you when your phone's OS was programmed by Google!
You can actually be quantifiably smarter & not just have to pretend!!! I hope that you DO make this choice. Come on in... the water is warm! =)
I just hope you don't make the other choice, after being confronted for making false statements putting yourself and others on an "tech savvy" pedestal simply by virtue of ownership of a readily available consumer product & instead decide to dismiss the comments of your detractor w/ a meaningless two word comment.
Oh yeah, dang... I'm too late. You made your choice; that's what I'm responding to.

 

[recoil80]

This is nothing new. And with 9.3 on the horizon, it's not really necessary anyway, although it might be nice to have extra options like Flux provides on Mac.

It would be necessary for people with old iPhones since night mode will work only on 64bit cpus, so no support for 4S, 5, and 5C