Layton Duncan: ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’

Scathing critique of the entire App Store from iPhone developer Layton Duncan. Here, on iTunes Connect:

Any developer who has experienced the business side of the App Store, iTunes Connect, the app submission process, is well aware that there is virtually zero care and attention to detail taken, it barely works for it’s intended purpose, and that lack of care and attention even creeps into the customer facing App Store. Put simply, the whole thing is entirely unprofessional, bordering on incompetent, and Apple should be highly embarrassed by it. The astounding thing is that this is so at odds with what most people expect from Apple: it’s certainly a far cry from the usual obsessive attention to detail in most of it’s consumer facing products.

Earlier in the piece, Duncan focuses on how everything is skewed toward 99-cent prices.

There are exceptions, to be sure. Cultured Code’s Things is $10, and is a consistent top seller in the productivity category. But there’s no denying the overall dollar-store atmosphere.

I’m wondering how much of the problem is that the App Store is built on the foundation and framework of the iTunes Music Store, which was designed from the outset specifically as a venue for selling 99-cent downloads.

★ Wednesday, 29 July 2009