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5 Apps Killed By Apple
There are so many apps that get made these days, that it’s not a surprise they often die out (or get killed off) by other, bigger companies. It all seems to be a part of business in the world of tech and one giant in particular seems to have an insatiable hunger, Apple. So here’s a look at some of the apps Apple has managed to kill off over the years...
F.lux – F.lux was an interesting app and the newest addition to Apple’s obituary page. Having started in 2009, F.lux is the best way to intelligently control your laptop display and reduce the emission of blue light which research shows can be one of the main reasons you might be struggling to get a good night’s rest.
The mobile version of the app however, was not so lucky. Due to Apple’s closed app ecosystem, it meant that F.lux had to build an app outside of the App Store that allowed anyone with a bit of tech knowledge to load it onto their iPhone.
This drove Apple into a tantrum, and the entire app was shut down and replaced months later by Apple’s “Night Shift” which was exactly the same as F.lux.
Boxcar – Boxcar was labelled an essential app for iPhones everywhere, allowing the user to be served up notifications (iOS whould’ve done this a good while back, seriously), until Apple came out with iOS 5 which fulfilled that issue, and with every update since then, Apple has been chipping away at Boxcar’s practicality.
Auxo – Being one of the most used pieces of software to jailbreaking iPhones, Auxo represents an ocean of apps that let your iPhone do exactly what you want it to do.
Bypassing Apple’s restrictions on most functions and developed its own mobile product. However, due to its shady nature, those developments also lead to its demise.
The features that this app provided which allowed for great multitasking capabilities as well as other similar apps such as Clockify and Wi-Fi Sync all met their doom when Apple updated their OS to iOS 7 back in 2013.
Having said all this though, the truth behind the matter still remains that the jailbroken iPhones of today are still the official (or unofficial) iOS of the future.
Swell – Swell was probably the best app out there for podcasts, having be labelled the, “Pandora for Talk Radio” and purchased by Apple in 2014.
In just two days after being purchased, the app was gone. It has most likely become part of Apple iTunes Radio and Podcast services, but even still they don’t compare to Swell.
iFlow Reader – iFlow Reader was a nifty little app for any book enthusiasts, with useful features and decent sales, the company apps seemed to be a success.
That is until Apple showed up with their policy shift in 2011 which required apps which were selling books or other media to pay 30% of their profits to Apple if the subscription was made through an iOS app.
After the update policy, the founder of iFlow Reader sated that the company didn’t make a profit over 30%, meaning that they were actually losing money per transaction.
That doesn’t only apply to iFlow Reader, it applies to anyone, company or individual, who is trying to sell an ebook from iOS app.
Due to the, “agency model” which is widely used by large publishing companies, the gross margin which is made after paying the wholesaler is less than 30%, and so it means a loss is made on all ebooks sold. This business model isn’t self-sustaining and that’s just cold, Apple.
