Apple’s rejection of Hey calendar app renews an outdated combat

The brand new 12 months was supposed to start with a brand new calendar app. However roughly 72 hours after the premium e-mail service Hey introduced its newest characteristic — an built-in calendar — co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson obtained some unwelcome information from Apple: it was rejecting a standalone iOS app for Hey Calendar, as a result of non-paying customers couldn’t do something once they opened the app up.

New customers can’t join Hey Calendar straight on the app — Basecamp, which makes Hey, makes customers first enroll via a browser. Apple’s App Retailer guidelines require most paid companies to supply customers the flexibility to pay and enroll via the app, guaranteeing the corporate will get as much as a 30 p.c reduce. The controversial rule has a ton of grey areas and carve-outs (i.e. reader apps like Spotify and Kindle get an exception) and is the topic of antitrust fights in a number of nations. 

However as Hansson detailed on X and in a subsequent weblog publish, he discovered Apple’s rejection insulting for an additional purpose. Near 4 years in the past, the corporate rejected Hey’s unique iOS app for its e-mail service for the very same purpose. “Apple simply referred to as to tell us they’re rejecting the HEY Calendar app from the App Retailer (in present type). Identical bullying techniques as final time: Push delicate rejections to a name with a first-name-only one who’ll softly inform you it’s your pockets or your kneecaps,” wrote Hansson in a publish on X.

The end result of the 2020 combat truly labored out in Hey’s favor. After days of forwards and backwards between Apple’s App Retailer Evaluate Board and Basecamp, the Hey crew agreed to a somewhat artistic resolution instructed by Apple exec Phil Schiller. Hey would supply a free possibility for the iOS app, permitting new customers to enroll straight. However the firm had a slight twist — customers who signed up by way of the iOS app acquired a free, short-term randomized e-mail deal with 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. 

Following the saga with Hey, Apple made a carve-out to its App Retailer guidelines that said that free companion apps to sure sorts of paid internet companies weren’t required to have an in-app fee mechanism. However, as Hansson mentions on X, a calendar app wasn’t talked about within the listing of companies that Apple now makes an exception for, which incorporates VOIP, cloud storage, internet hosting — and naturally — e-mail.

“After spending 19 days to evaluation our submission, inflicting us to overlook a long-planned January 2nd launch date, Apple rejected our stand-alone free companion app ‘as a result of it doesn’t do something’. That’s as a result of customers are required to login with an present account to make use of the performance,” wrote Hansson within the weblog publish. 

As Hansson particulars in an X publish, Hey plans to combat Apple’s resolution — although he didn’t specify what route they are going to be taking. The Verge has reached out to each Hey and Apple for remark.