Apple updates its App Store rules to crack down on clones
Our Bureau
Los Angeles, CA
Tech giant Apple launched its first augmented reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, at its 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. According to Variety, a US-based media outlet, the headset will be priced starting at $3,499, available starting in early 2024 in the U.S. (with other countries later in the year). "I believe that augmented reality is a profound technology," said CEO Tim Cook, saying that Apple's introduction of Vision Pro will introduce people to new forms of "spatial computing" and comparing the product introduction to the way iPhone introduced smartphones to millions of people.
"Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before -- with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of ground-breaking innovations," Cook said. "It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers," reported Variety.
Apple's Vision Pro uses eye movements and hand movements for navigation -- with no external controllers -- and also employs voice input. Vision Pro uses a feature Apple calls EyeSight that shows a wearer's eyes if they're in augmented-reality mode as opposed to fully immersive VR mode. The headset also includes Apple's first 3D camera, for capturing spatial video and photos and can serve as a "personal movie theater" with support for Apple TV+, Apple Arcade games and other Apple services, as per Variety.
Vision Pro provides ultra-high resolution, with more pixels for each eye than a 4K TV, and provides a newly designed spatial-audio system, reported variety citing Apple.
Just days prior to Apple's VR announcement, Meta announced the next generation of its own VR headset, the Meta Quest 3, priced at $500 and slated to ship in the fall of 2023, as per Variety.
Meanwhile, Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to crack down on app clones and copycats.
The company in a blog said impersonating an app is now considered a violation of the App Store's rules, Tech Crunch reported. "Submitting apps which impersonate other apps or services is considered a violation of the Developer Code of Conduct and may result in removal from the Apple Developer Program," Apple said.
The updated guidelines mention that developers shouldn't copy the app's code or user interface, or have a similar name to another popular app.
"Come up with your own ideas. We know you have them, so make yours come to life. Don't simply copy the latest popular app on the App Store, or make some minor changes to another app's name or UI and pass it off as your own," the new section in the guidelines reads. "In addition to risking an intellectual property infringement claim, it makes the App Store harder to navigate and just isn't fair to your fellow developers," the rules stated.
