The brand new yr was supposed to start out with a brand new calendar app. However about 72 hours after premium e-mail service Hey introduced its newest function — an built-in calendar — co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson received some unwelcome information from Apple: It was rejecting a standalone iOS app for Hey Calendar, as a result of non-paying customers may” do nothing after they opened the app.
New customers cannot join Hey Calendar immediately within the app — Basecamp, which makes Hey, makes customers enroll via a browser first. Apple’s App Retailer guidelines require most paid providers to supply customers the flexibility to pay and enroll via the app, making certain the corporate will get a reduction of as much as 30 p.c. The controversial rule has loads of grey areas and limits (which means e-reading apps like Spotify and Kindle are exceptions) and is the topic of antitrust battles in a number of nations.
However as Hansson detailed on X and in a later weblog put up, he discovered Apple’s rejection offensive for one more cause. Nearly 4 years in the past, the corporate rejected Hey’s authentic iOS app for its e-mail service for precisely the identical cause. “Apple simply referred to as us to tell us they’re eradicating the HEY Calendar app from the App Retailer (in its present type). Similar bully techniques as final time: push mild rejections on a name with a primary title one that will simply let you realize it is your pockets or kneecap,” Hansson wrote in a put up on X.
The end result of the 2020 battle really labored in Hey’s favor. After days of backwards and forwards between Apple’s App Retailer Assessment Board and Basecamp, the Hey crew agreed to a quite artistic answer prompt by Apple government Phil Schiller. Hey would supply a free choice for the iOS app, permitting new customers to enroll immediately. However the firm had a slight twist — customers who signed up via the iOS app received a free, non permanent, randomized e-mail handle that labored for 14 days — after which they needed to pay to improve. At present, Hey e-mail customers can solely pay for an account via the browser.
After the Hey saga, Apple made a change to the App Retailer guidelines, which acknowledged that free companion apps for sure varieties of paid net providers have been not should have an in-app cost mechanism. However as Hansson factors out on X, a calendar app wasn’t talked about within the listing of providers Apple is now making an exception for, which incorporates VOIP, cloud storage, hosting, and naturally e-mail.
“After spending 19 days revising our submission, which induced us to overlook a long-planned launch date of January 2nd, Apple rejected our free standalone companion app ‘as a result of it would not do something’ . It’s because customers have to log in with an current account to make use of the performance,” Hansson wrote within the weblog put up.
As Hansson particulars in an X put up, Hey plans to battle Apple’s determination — although he did not specify which route they’d take. The Verge has reached out to each Hey and Apple for remark.