“My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies.” – Joe Hewitt
Facebook developer Joe Hewitt, the man behind the immensely popular Facebook application for iPhone, has just tweeted that he’s done with the project:
“Time for me to try something new. I’ve handed the Facebook iPhone app off to another engineer, and I’m onto a new project.”
We reached out to Hewitt for more details, and he attributed his decision to quit the project entirely on Apple’s tyrannical App Store approval policies:
My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies. I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process. I am very concerned that they are setting a horrible precedent for other software platforms, and soon gatekeepers will start infesting the lives of every software developer.
The web is still unrestricted and free, and so I am returning to my roots as a web developer. In the long term, I would like to be able to say that I helped to make the web the best mobile platform available, rather than being part of the transition to a world where every developer must go through a middleman to get their software in the hands of users.”
I couldn’t agree with Hewitt’s sentiments more, and it’s a breath of fresh air to see such a prominent developer quit the App Store. Apple has built some truly fantastic products, but their approach to the App Store is frightening — especially given the fact that other platforms may see the iPhone’s success and start adopting a similar model.
Hewitt’s move is a big deal, because he has essentially been the one-man show behind the iPhone’s most popular application of all time. Hewitt has been quite vocal about his opposition to Apple’s ridiculous App Store approval policies — in a post last August, he wrote that “the review process needs to be eliminated completely.” And to be clear, Hewitt is still at Facebook, though he can’t talk about the next project he’s working on.
Be sure to check out our TalkCrunch interview with Hewitt back in 2007, back when he had just launched the social network’s iPhone web app (note that the native iPhone app wasn’t released until summer 2008).
Hewitt joined Facebook in 2007 when it acquired Parakey, the company he co-founded with Blake Ross. Hewitt is also known for helping create the Firefox web browser as well as the popular Firebug development plugin.
From twitter:
http://twitter....atus/5639310946
Developer of Facebook app for iPhone quits, blames App Store for its review policy. He works for Facebook! Largest walled garden on earth?!
Props to you, Joe. I quit the iPhone too. Using it, that is. A man’s got to stand on something. Principle isn’t that bad a something to stand on.
An employee/contract developer asks to be reassigned to a non-iphone project and this is meant to be the turning of the tide against the iphone platform??
I am sure the App Store approval process can be improved, streamlined etc.
But as a user i am glad there is a gate keeper, for me it is actually a big plus for the platform. As is the App store no other platform (so far) makes it so easy to find, pay and download third party apps.
“I respect their right to manage their platform however they want, however I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process.”
This is essentially the most retarded, childish thing that I completely expect from a crybaby developer.
I would like to philosophically oppose the existence of all the reviews (tests) my teachers put me through instead of just giving me A’s all the time but it turns out I actually had to work for them. I would like to philosophically oppose all the reviews my management forces me into but it turns out that they want to make sure I’m not dorking around.
The world works in a certain way. Deal with it or in this guy’s case, quit and give it to someone else so he can focus on easier tasks.
100K apps in the store means that if you got rejected, you did it wrong. Fix it and do it right next time. I fail to see what’s so hard about that.
Joe is great human being, I respect him a lot.
Facebook mobile is average application and they made strategic blunders. They have very few location specific features, I would rather use foursquare and find my friends and also what else around me.
FB mobile misses around me – both people and places. I dont need fb at my desk, I am supposed to be working.
I need places and friends when I am outside. FB is just user directory right now, mobile & gaming is going to make them irrelevant.
I suggest check on a position at Palm.. Palm Pre simply rocks, and it’s apps are powered by web technology!
PB
I love this man.
“…..make the web the best mobile platform available…” This is where the Droid beats the iPhone hands down. The iPhone is a small desktop with web access. Droid is web.
I think Android is more likely to be fragmented mess once the handset manufactures and network owners get their hands on it
What does this even mean? “The Droid is web” ? Remember the iPhone’s first year, you know, when it was figuring out the architecture of the incredibly successful, albeit flawed appstore, when “web apps” were all we had without jailbreaking?
Mobile Safari is web.
If Techcrunch/MA was not getting benefits to push Android then this article would have more impact. The change at TC started when the push for the Crunchpad started. Since then MA has done everything to try to knock Apple.
Well I hope the next facebook iPhone app developer does a better job the “new” facebook app for the iPhone was very bad – worse than the original one.
The UI is amazingly bad. It is more stable but almost unusable.
I love facebook – but they keep making the UI web and iPhone worse!
Why don’t people understand – the reason that Apple products are successful is all about the UI – Google don’t get it and Microsoft don’t get it.
It’s not marketing (MS out spends Apple 6+ to 1).
It quality UI!
Everyone criticizes Apple for too much control, until some jerk rights a Baby shaking program that kills a baby when it cries too much? Make up your minds…
Ironic – that’s how many Facebook developers feel about Facebook’s policies!!
How is this even news? While I agree there are issues with the review process I don’t see how handing his duties to another FB developer is even news. Facebook will continue to developer an iPhone app. As a company they’ll continue to support the iPhone platform.
Rage quiting because Apple treats him the same as all the other developers is pretty funny (I’m sure they make some exceptions though).
Hardware differentiated platform fragmentation and carrier meddling will have Android in the horse latitudes before long. Google’s customers will only sometimes be the end users (good luck, end users).
When Joe swims back to iPhone OS–even if it’s just for jailbroken iPhones–throw him a line!
Maybe I’m missing the irony here, but does Facebook also review all the FB Apps too? I remember complaints back then about FB rejecting developer apps too.
I can’t help but wonder what new project he might come up with next. The guy has a pretty insane track record.
Firebug. One of the iPhone’s most popular apps. Could be very interesting what comes next. As stated in one of my earlier posts, it appears it will be in the web space.
“The web is still unrestricted and free, and so I am returning to my roots as a web developer.”
To me it sounds a bit hypocritical given Facebook’s control over it’s own app platform.
Hewitt is basically sending Facebook the message he’s more than willing to quit if they follow Apple and implement a review process (sparked by the scamville party).
Good! Far too many developers are doing apps when they should be doing iPhone-optimzed web sites. Google figured this out awhile ago. Joe’s own IUI hasn’t evolved at all.
You have to wonder if this is actually related to the recent issues with Joe’s iPhone library Three20? Someone got pulled up for using it because it uses private undocumented Cocoa Touch API elements. As te Facebook app uses the same controls….. I’m guessing the Facebook app would now have a vey hard time getting approved.
As much as I respect what Joe Hewitt has done, it’s in his true nature to be a web developer, not developing for a locked down native apps such as iPhone app.
Since he’s also working for Facebook, I’m sure that he could find other projects that would interest him.
He’s not relying his income and career entirely on iPhone app development. So, it’s normal for him to quit.
I’ll be more shocked if other successful indie developers in the App Store (not the one working for a web platform such as Facebook) quit their iPhone Dev projects.
I think this news may not change a lot about how Apple handles the App Review process.
There should be a movement from existing successful iPhone app developers, before that will happen.
I am an iPhone developer and… Joe Hewitt has a very valid point!
Would you like one day Apple to review all the apps you run on your computer? No way, Jose!
I hope they will get their act together soon!
The quality judgment should be done by the user and not by the distributor.
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At least you can talk to someone at Apple about your problems. Try getting in touch with someone at Facebook.
A petty rant from a hypocrite.
I’ll admit I use it daily, but it is still only an ok app. They could learn a thing or two about app design from Tweetie.
I can’t understand this at all, why does everyone think the iPhone’s review process is a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing, yes maybe the review process takes to long, and maybe they block a few apps due to competitive reasons, but all-in-all, I think it’s a good thing.
Let me tell you why. Before I had the iPhone, I had an n95 and an n96. The phone’s were pretty good (for a few years ago) and people were writing apps like crazy. I had scour the web for the sort of applications I was looking for, sometimes I wouldn’t find anything and then other times I would find exactly what I was looking for, …..or so I thought!!
On numerous occasions I would download and install an app using my wifi on my phone, but 50% of the time, after installation, I would have installed utter rubbish. Numerous things could happen next, the phone might only work in a limited capacity, the uninstall wouldn’t work, my username and password were being asked for by an untrusted 3rd party sources, the app would crash ALL THE TIME! The thing that struck me immediately was that I couldn’t possibly recommend these types of phones to non-techie non-geeky people. This kind of power without some technical knowledge could spell disaster for someone like my father, so I never recommended the phone to the layman, even though ultimately the phones were very good and very powerful.
Then came the iPhone, initially I dismissed them as a closed system where Apple were calling the shots. In my mind, how could this phone be better than open and flexible phones like Nokia’s etc? Well, my Nokia bit the dust, so I bit the bullet and bought one of these iPhone things that I thought couldn’t be that great. How wrong I was!!!! Due to Apple, all apps I’ve installed are top quality and very well written, I can get them all from the same place and they don’t cost the earth. Because of the review process Apple have, I can be a lot more confident I’m not buying malicious apps. I had to wait 2 to 3 months for the dropbox application to get through the review process, when it was finally released (after Apple told dropbox to fix some “minor” bugs), it worked beautifully. I was happy to wait for the application because I knew it was going to be quality.
Then my father’s phone broke and he needed a new one, he called me up and asked me what he should get. I had no hesitation telling him to get an iPhone because I’m reasonably confident that when he downloads apps, he won’t be downloading malicious apps, the apps will work, and if he doesn’t like the app, he can remove it without the “uninstall” breaking anything else on the phone, ….and some of these traits are due to Apple’s review process. The iPhone is the first phone my father’s been able to use properly (he’s not very technical), yet it’s one of the most advanced phones ever! The iPhone works for the layman partly due to Apple’s review process.
I want great technology to be delivered and to be useful to more laymen in this world, and there are more laymen than techies, so I’m a fan of Apple’s review process. Sorry to buck the trend!
Andy
Why would any decent smartphone need a Facebook ‘app’ anyway? It’s just a frickin website.
I think that Joe’s point is a good one.
A lot of people talk about how the App Store review process is needed to keep crap out.
That is true, but do you honestly think that EVERYONE needs to go through that process? How about they allow trusted partners with established software quality assurance practices (such as Facebook, and other big vendors) to skip the review process? That only seems fair. It would be impossible for Apple to perform that level of QA in their review process.
How about developing for the WebOS plattform for Palm Pre and Pixi – then you get to develop for an opensource plattform AND the web at the same time.
Regards,
Anders H
OK so the approval process for the App Store can be ruthless, but I think some people need to give Apple a little credit. We are not dealing with your home WiFi network and “unlimited bandwidth” here. Mobile applications need much more stringent guidelines due to the nature of the device and the network, and that’s always going to require an approval process. The other thing is Apple has made updates to applications nagless and seamless, something that would be impossible if we simply downloaded applications from the Web directly onto the phone. We can’t afford not for Apple to not have an approval process at all for many reasons, so developers need to accept it. No matter how many of these “devebrities” stand up, the platform is still booming because it’s the best, and it deserves to.
Well that’s contrary to what he posted on his Web site under “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” on http://joehewitt.com.
“I’d like to add my voice to the stream of complaints about the iPhone App Store, but before I say anything critical, I have to promise one thing. No matter how annoyed I get, I will not stop developing for Apple’s platforms or using Apple’s products as long as they continue to produce the best stuff on the market. I never forget how deeply Apple cares about making their users happy, and that counts more than how they treat their developers. Besides, when I have a problem with a friend, I don’t threaten to boycott our friendship until they change, so I’m not going to do that to Apple either.”
I call Bullshit! App developers seem to expect that deploying content to Apple’s store is some sort of indelible right. Apple owns the freakin’ store! It’s their platform, and consumers love it. And a large part of the reason consumers love it is because there is a high confidence level that any app you download has been checked-out by Apple. If you’re a legit developer, then submit to the review process — what have you got to fear? If your app is rejected, discuss with Apple and I’m sure you can resolve the issue. They are reasonable and nice. I should know, I’ve submitted two apps, both of which were rejected on the first pass for damn good reasons. I for one have been VERY impressed with the level of QA that goes on. They found a memory leak in my app that was pretty hard to spot. I fixed it, resubmitted, and was approved. Again, I as a professional developer totally appreciate that. I also appreciate that as a consumer, I’m not too worried about downloading spyware or a virus on my phone. Without the App store review, I’d probably have to install AVG/Symantec/McAfee on my phone — AND THAT WOULD SUCK!
1. Who needs Facebook?
2. Android!
As others have pointed out, the reason for his app’s popularity is that it’s the only official one for Facebook. That’s different from the author’s implication that the app is so popular because of the genius of the developer.
“…other platforms may see the iPhone’s success and start adopting a similar model.”
That’s bizarre. You’re criticizing their policies yet fearing that they’re so successful that other companies will adopt the identical policies. If their policies are as objectionable as you claim, they wouldn’t be so successful that other companies would adopt the same policies, would they? There are numerous alternatives and competitors. if Apple is the model that others seek to copy, as you fear, that suggests that consumers do not share your views.
Oh boo hoo. Poor Joe – Yes, Facebook is a lovely gem as well, sending all my 5000+ contacts invites through no fat fingering of my own, and then having basically no way to try and manage the problem – e.g., no customer service for all intents and purposes. Lots o’ luck.
I am an iPhone developer and I have no real complaints about the approval process apart from the time it takes to approve a bug fix release.
But you know, my bug-fix could, for example, have traversed the user’s address book and sent me ( or someone else) all the contact information from all of their contacts. So Apple is really caught between a rock and a hard place. People trust iPhone apps not to do malicious things and the only way to stop that is to have some kind of approval process.
You guys got it all wrong – you need to take out the Y and then you get the real story… … Facebook iPhone Dev Quits Project Over Apple TRANNY
Now THERE’s the Story!
In other news, another developer takes over Joe’s role. I fail to see the newsworthiness of this item?
Apple’s policies do have lots of issues. But they are still better than most other mobile platforms. Try getting something on the Verizon feature phone store for example. 6 Month review process not that uncommon.
And Facebook had a pretty easy time getting out updates when there were problems with the 3.0 iPhone app release. 3.01 came out just 5 days after 3.0. 3.02 came out just 4 days after that.
Cheers,
Jeff
Here’s what’s missing from the discussion here (and most of the coverage): right before this blow-up it became clear that the code behind the current version of the Facebook app (and likely the 3.1 version that’s not been approved) is that it uses undocumented API calls (the “Three20″ library is core code in the 3.0 Facebook app):
http://github.c...losed/#issue/99
In the last few weeks Apple has started using a static analyzer (a way of looking through code to find references) to see if any private/undocumented API calls are being used and is rejecting apps based on it. It appears that Joe used a number of these calls freely.
The problem with using such calls — and likely the reason that Apple is rejecting them — is that they’re not necessarily stable. That is, they’re parts of the operating system that might well change or even disappear during an operating system update. If a bunch of apps are unknowingly using them then when users update their iPhone/iTouch OSes to get the new features and bug fixes, suddenly these apps will stop working. While this might make the developer look bad, more than anything it makes Apple look bad, like their OS update broke the apps.
You can do (very nearly) everything the Facebook app currently does without the undocumented calls, and what you can’t do identically you can work around. Not as easily, maybe, and perhaps not quite as prettily, but it’s all doable.
If what appears to be the case is true — Joe was using the undocumented calls throughout his code and the new version of the Facebook app is being rejected because of it — it means that he would have to rewrite big chunks of the app and likely modify some of the features. Speculatively maybe he didn’t want to go through that effort, or Facebook didn’t want to pay him to do that, or whatever.
To sum: this isn’t just a “Apple is being a jerk and a visible developer has had it” issue. There appears to be real merit on the (apparent) rejection of the new version.
It’s easy to criticize another company, but Facebook ’s own App API is loaded with their own restrictions, not to mention really poorly put together. How many facebook application worms are we up to now?
I think apples app approval process could be made a lot simpler by making it customer-centric rather than business centric.
For example: a developer would be free to issue a product in the app store as long as it met very light code/legality requirements.
As customers review the product, certain types of review information from a number of customers would “flag” an app, bringing it up for further review.
Customers could play more of a role in choosing what is in the App store, and Apple could impose heavier restrictions on devs that have abused the system in the past (submitted an app that violated the basic requirements, or had particularly bad user reviews for bugs/illegality/etc.)
Also, the Appstore needs not just an app approval process, but a developer approval process. A company like Facebook, after a decent product history, should be free to issue bug fixes and updates without going through an approval process.
All of this is in Apple’s best interests. I’m pretty sure a system like this will exist eventually. The current system is unsustainable for Apple and annoying for customers.
Apple App Store = closed system, tight control, but plenty of apps available and over a billion served.
Android Market = open source, little to no control over standards and consistency, available on several phones on three different US carriers, roughly 10k apps available and just how many people served?
Joe, for everyone dev like you that quits, 20 more take your place. You’ll come back. They always do.
from FB (firebug) to FB (facebook) and now a FB (free bird)
This is Elliot Schrage, VP of Communications at Facebook. There’s been a fair amount of confusion and speculation about Joe’s comments and whether they reflect the official position of Facebook. They don’t. Facebook’s relationship with Apple and our commitment to the iPhone platform remain strong. IIn fact, though Joe himself will be moving to new projects, Facebook has a great team of engineers taking over iPhone related development. More generally, our work bringing Facebook Connect to the iPhone and with iTunes, iPhoto and other great products over the past year should illustrate our commitment to expanding our relationship with Apple and finding new ways to offer new services and features to the people who use both our products.
Apple’s policies are not the best for developers, but people knew it is a closed/propreitary platform, before they signed up for the phone or becoming a iphone developer.
Play by the rules of the game
Apple is the refree/judge, his decision would be final.
There are instances where facebook policies or feature restrictions in their API is stupid and absurd. That wont make Joe Hewitt a better or worse person.
Yet another reason to Jailbreak
It is a sad day when a prodigious and innovative developer like Joe Hewitt decides to quit iPhone development… the review process can be nerve-wracking.. you put in all that effort only to be told you can’t do this and that. Agree that is it Apple’s T&C and they have their own reasons…maybe a little competition from Droid & Pre will cause some creative solutions to emerge. 3
I’m surprised that very few have noted that Joe Hewitt is simply one of the best web and iPhone developers out there especially when it comes to UI.
C’mon guys the iPhone app for Facebook is a very cool app…it ranks “up there” in terms of its aesthetics and functionality… one commenter writes a flippant remark that he could code it up in 5 mins & a few api calls.. please do.. try it while I wait.
Personally Joe’s work both on iPhone-optimized UI and the iPhone app opened my eyes to what was really possible… many “aha” moments… and all that creativity from “one” guy…incredible! and now he is leaving in frustration.. thanks TC for reporting this.
“I have to promise one thing. No matter how annoyed I get, I will not stop developing for Apple’s platforms or using Apple’s products as long as they continue to produce the best stuff on the market. I never forget how deeply Apple cares about making their users happy, and that counts more than how they treat their developers.”
- Joe Hewitt, August 2009
I guess someone changed his mind.
“Is this why there are so many crappy annoying apps on facebook?” said Cam
Exactly. I don’t want the app store to be just flooded with crap. It’s hard enough finding stuff now as it is. How many ‘flash light’ apps are there? They all do exactly the same thing, it all comes down to who has the prettiest icon.