Apple Relaxes Stance On Calculator Widgets

If you've seen chatter about Apple blocking calculator widgets over the past few days, the news may have been a bit confusing. The sensational headline was that Apple was blocking all calculator widgets, which began with the Developer of a popular third-party Calculator app having his widget pulled. The reason given was that widgets were barred from performing any calculations, and like so many App Store rules and guidelines, made little sense. Now, Apple is changing their mind a bit, and offering an explanation on the dust-up.

Speaking to TechCrunch, an Apple spokesperson intimated that calculations in widget form were not something they anticipated. In the interest of pragmatism, they pulled the offending item (PCalc) until they came to a decision about widgets that perform calculations.

There was never a really solid reason for barring the calculator widget anyway. All iOS widgets are sandboxed, so it seems as though the calculator widget just caught Apple off-guard a bit.

It's really another indication of Apple's odd, opaque App Store policies biting Developers in the backside. It's great that we as users get to keep PCalc, and this absolutely sets a precedent for future calculator widgets, but it's not addressing a root problem. Though getting an app through to the App Store isn't hard, there is a very large grey area that exists. Hopefully Apple starts addressing that soon.

Via: TechCrunch