Apple Pulls 'Rewound' App That Turned iPhone Into a Classic iPod

[allapple]

....therein lies Apple's problem.......it can't have fun anymore! It can't laugh at itself! It only laughs when it's a joke that they tell.......and watching the "events", they are pretty lame at that! Easter eggs use to be the norm.....it made Apple fun! FUN commercials......not social engineering ones! I will download that app as soon as I can.....somewhere....just so I can have a little Apple throwback moment! ....gezzzzzzzzz

 

[BB1970]

I had this app. Looked nice. Performed terribly. Needed some definite bug fixes

 

[The Afroman]

Im very confused here by the community siding with Apple.
I downloaded and bought the app. You have to make add the skin from a 3rd party place. It's not included in the app. this is no different than ANY other application out there with a basic level of functionality.

I don't understand on what grounds they pulled it on. This isn't something the basic user who would buy the app can do unless they found the skin and imported it. What are they protecting here? Nothing the base app on the app store can do infringes on any Apple IP.

 

[alexandr]

i got it, but it's pretty useless, considering you can't use it on the lock screen.

 

[ElioLugaru]

Lets be real. This was bound to happen.

Also, I tried the app, I couldn't get it to work.

 

[ayasinsk]

If apple killed the iPod, obviously they wouldn't let this app live either.

 

[jarman92]

Glad I got it while it was still available! The physics of the scroll wheel aren't great though

 

[iGeneo]

Really wanted this one!

No you didn't, it was terribly clunky. Looked reasonable until you actually tried to use it

 

[kemal]

Re-write it for Android.

 

[Plutonius]

Companies can't be allowed to get in the way of Apple Music's profits. /S

 

[Appleman3546]

If there was a rival App Store or a way to download apps from the browser, this would still be available and Apple would have to go through the courts rather than make their own verdicts on copyright or IP

 

[Lucky736]

Build it for Android. See what they try then.

 

[44267547]

No loss here, poor functionality and unstable from the beginning. Look clever, but failed ultimately at execution.

 

[ambientdaw]

Bring back the Classic, greedy Apple.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

Honestly I've been an Apple evangelist for 15 years. I've owned every iPhone series since the first one. But two weeks ago I replaced my iPhone 11 Pro with a Note 10, and I haven't regretted it. Apple is boring now. They don't excite anymore. I miss how it used to be.

 

[DocMultimedia]

I grabbed it a few days ago when I heard about it. Knew that Apple would kill it. As others said, it's simple and nostalgic.

 

[ActionableMango]

Is anyone really surprised? The developer or us?
Brand protection because the brand is what took it over the trillion $ value.

Well it is short-sighted brand protection. At least this app only ran on Apple devices. Now that it is banned on the Apple store, the developer is making an Android version.

 

[rjp1]

Seems like Apple should go after the users that created the iPod skin rather than take down the app itself.

Just another abuse of not letting us install/run apps that we choose on the hardware that we bought.

 

[HudsonSteele]

I would have loved this. I really HATE the way all media players work now. I yearn for the days of Winamp and the early iTunes. I think music is being treated as just another social media platform instead of an experience with power.

 

[KALLT]

As usual with these reports, we only get to hear the developer’s story without hearing Apple’s side. Maybe Apple will comment, but they don’t more often than not.

The app does mimic the look and functionality of the iPod with “click wheel”, with haptic feedback to boot. From what I remember, Apple does have patents and/or trademarks on these things, there were at least court cases about them. This app did also put certain Apple Music features behind in-app purchases, which does violate Apple’s App Store guidelines.

I also came across this:

Although Anslow isn’t marketing Rewound as an app that will transform your iPhone into an iPod, that’s the primary purpose right now. The way the app has been built has allowed it to be published in the App Store, as skins are simply downloaded after the app is installed. It’s a clever workaround as long as Apple doesn’t pull the app, and it will mean others will be able to create additional skins in the future.

It seems to me that the developer may have been a bit naive. The gist of his article – which he now uses to solicit for money – clearly shows that he did not consider the legal aspects of this before charging people for it.

 

[Blackstick]

Yep, it’ll be in iOS 14...

 

[blacktape242]

hey wait, i wanted it

 

[robertcoogan]

That's really a shame. Apple doesn't really seem to care about much except selling iPhones. So much for the revolution.

 

[Toratek]

I've read some disingenuous stuff from developers like this in the past, but the Medium article referred to in the story sets a new low for honesty and integrity. It was a janky app, and I deleted it after a few minutes.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[Brandhouse]

I downloaded this app and it seemed terrible tbh. The whole user-added argument is a clear circumvention, but I still don't see why Apple took it down.

"... because it copied the iPod's design, charged a fee for Apple Music features..."