Apple’s walled-garden app store approach wearing thin?

Steve Jobs announces App Store (Credit: CNET)

Apple’s motto for its app store, “There’s an app for that” appears to be wearing thin over recent application issues including the removal of all Google Voice apps.

With over 1.5 billion downloads in just over a year, and with the devices which use the store flying out the door left right and centre, it’s hard to deny that Apple has hit a winner with its app store.

But recently, Apple has come under intense scrutiny over the removal of all Google Voice apps – to be fair, no one is actually sure wether this was their fault or the result of a push by AT&T, but nevertheless its an app that simply shouldn’t have been blocked, especially considering apps enabling G Voice have been on the iPhone store for months without an issue.

So is the walled-garden approach Apple is taking beginning to really wear off? Reports are surfacing across the web that developers are beginning to dump developing for the iPhone in favour of other less stricter app stores such as Android and Windows Mobile. Developers spending months working on apps submit them to Apple only to find that they are denied because of in many cases trivial excuses.

iPhone with App Store (Credit: Maclife)

But it’s becoming quite clear now that Apple needs to revamp its approach towards permitting or denying apps and letting developers know the exact reason behind not permitting the apps to the store, so that the developer can if possible fix the issue at hand. It seems there is no guidebook as such for those who are checking the apps – some seem to make it through the process using and performing the exact same functions that other apps are blocked for.

For us here in Australia, where the iPhone is available on all carrier networks, bandwidth is nowhere near as much of a problem as it is in the US. But still, apps such as Sling are denied or restricted in their functions on the Australian app store. Surely there’s some better way of managing all this.

Innovation has played a key role on the App store and is one of the reasons why the iPhone has become such a hit. But recently the innovation seems to have come to a halt, with Apple removing many apps that could and most likely would raise the bar on the iPhone. C’mon Apple – can we please let innovation back into the App store?