New Light Sheds On App Review Process From A Former Apple Employee

New Light Sheds On App Review Process From A Former Apple Employee

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Apple’s app review team takes a lot of heat from the iOS community. Their decisions on which apps are let into the App Store, and which ones get rejected, are often criticized for being either too strict or too lenient.

One reason why there’s so much grievance is that fact that people don’t quite understand the process or what it’s like to be an appreviewer. So a former Apple employee decided to clear things up…

Former software engineer Mike Lee recently spoke with Business Insider regarding what it’s like to be a part of Apple’s app review team. And apparently, it’s actually a pretty lousy gig.

“People have this idea that there are 100 people in India doing app reviews,” Lee tells Business Insider. “It’s just people in a building at Apple, and like every other part of Apple, they can’t get enough really good people. Apple will not compromise the quality of its teams to fill it in. I promise you it’s a lot smaller than you imagine.”

This is mind-boggling when you consider that Apple sees between 8,500 and 10,000 app submissions per week. And reviewers must scan each and every one for copyright and guideline infringement, as well as explicit content. In fact, Lee says the latter is particularly troublesome.

“It’s a very serious problem, trying to filter out things that no one is there to see. Somebody has to sit there and filter out all of those d*cks. You can’t let any of those get through. You have to err way on the side of safety. You have to have people sitting there looking at things that may or may not be d*cks all day long.”

It’s no surprise that filtering out these types of applicationsis of particular importance to Apple’s review team. Steve Jobs was extremely vocal about his company’s position on pornography, famously saying “If you want porn, get an Android.”

Nevertheless, while while we may wonder what they’re thinking sometimes, we have to admit that in general, Apple’s review team does a pretty good job of protecting the integrity of the App Store.

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Updated Pandora App Now Has UI Changes And Reduced Battery Usage

Updated Pandora App Now Has UI Changes And Reduced Battery Usage

July 8, 2012   Technology

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Pandora has released a major update for its iOS application this weekend, bringing it to version 3.2. The new app includes a refreshed UI, and several other welcomed enhancements.

Among the new features is a modification to the app’s architecture, which, Pandora claims, greatly reduces the amount of battery life it uses. Keep reading for the full change log…

New features in Pandora 3.2 include:

• Visual refresh and design enhancements
• Full lyrics for the songs we play
• Artist biographies
• Detailed track features from the Music Genome Project
• Song history: rate, bookmark, or buy previously played tracks
• Explicit lyrics controls
• Start a new station directly from the Now Playing screen
• Simplified sign-in and registration screens
• Reduced battery usage

The update really makes for a more cohesive user experience. I like the new look, which follows the recent Instagram-esque design trend, and new features like Artist Biographies and Song History are a nice touch.

I haven’t been using version 3.2 long enough to notice any kind of significant impact on the battery life of my iPhone4S, but even the slightest improvement would be helpful at this point.

The app, as always, is free, and can be found in the App Store. And then of course, Pandora is still offering its ad-free $3.99-per-month Pandora One service.

So, what do you think of the new Pandora?

[The Verge]

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Brand New Food and Drink Category Is Now live On The App Store

Brand New Food and Drink Category Is Now live On The App Store

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Earlier this month, several iOS developers reported receiving word from Apple that it was adding a new category to the App Store called Food and Drink.

The new section would showcase a number of applications regarding the topic, that previously got lost in the gigantic Lifestyle section. And now it’s live…

As noted by 9to5Mac, the new Food and Drink category is now live in the App Store. Users can use the new section to find a nice mix of food and drink recipe apps, cooking aids, and local restaurant finders.

To give you an idea, top paid iPhone apps in the new category include Food Network in the Kitchen and MapMuse’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives Locator. Top free apps include Starbucks and Urbanspoon.

If you want to check out the new section for yourself, you can view it in the App Store, by clicking here.

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