Apple Continues To Open Communication Channels About The App Store

Mg Siegler

MG Siegler is a general partner at Google Ventures and a columnist for TechCrunch, where he has been writing since 2009. Previously, MG was a general partner at CrunchFund. And before TechCrunch, MG covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked... → Learn More

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Screen shot 2009-12-09 at 12.42.25 AM

We all know the App Store is broken. But we also all know that Apple is trying to fix it. Last night, Apple sent out notifications to iPhone developers letting them know that they had a new tool to share that will hopefully further open communications with developers.

Apple has announced the availability of RSS feeds for Developer News. While this may not seem like a huge deal, Apple is promising that this will be a good way for developers to stay on top of:

  • Tips for submitting apps to the App Store
  • Current turnaround time for app reviews
  • Program updates
  • Development and testing techniques

The key there is probably the turnaround time for app reviews. Most of the developers who write to us complaining about the App Store simply note that their apps have taken longer to review than the standard two weeks. This line of communication should help Apple let developers know if there is an abnormally long waiting period for any reason.

In terms of the App Store overall, we remain of the mindset that it’s ultimately an untenable model. Eventually, as the App Store keeps growing, Apple is going to have to open it up more (maybe with “trusted” developers) or it will have to hire an absurd number of people just to check applications. Yes, Apple’s trusted ecosystem is important, but it’s not like they check every website in the world, which the iPhone can access.

[thanks Noah]

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