• Apple Pulls 'FlexBright', Says iOS Apps That Adjust Display Temperature Aren't Allowed

    by
    Caiden Spencer
    Published on 2016-03-10 12:21 AM
    2 Comments Comments

    This week, a blue-light reduction app called FlexBright, which works similar to Apple's own Night Shift mode or f.lux as the Jailbreak community knows it. Initially Apple approved the app, which was able to adjust the screen temperature for the entire iPhone, Apple pulled it from the App Store.



    The developer of Flexbright, Sam Al-Jamal told sources that he had worked with Apple through several app rejections to get FlexBright into the App Store and that no private APIs were in use, something that was seemingly confirmed by the app's approval, but further review from Apple led to FlexBright's removal. Al-Jamal has shared Apple's explanation with MacRumors following an "exhausting discussion" with the Cupertino company. "

    The FlexBright app adjusted the temperature of the screen to make it more yellow, like Night Shift in iOS 9.3

    I recreated three classes based on non-public APIs. Even though these are custom classes that I created, but essentially they're using the same methods as in their non-public APIs.
    FlexBright masked the silent audio with a music player to "justify the background music activity," something that Apple approved twice even though the music playing function doesn't appear to work.

    We labelled it as a new feature to "rest/close your eyes for few minutes and listen to some music". Now Apple says this is not the intended purpose of the app and they won't allow this approach.
    Apple asked Al-Jamal to remove the blue light filter to get FlexBright back on the App Store, but he declined so that users who have already purchased the app can keep the feature. "For all intended purposes, FlexBright is dead," he said. He does plan to go on to make a new app that will detect eye fatigue based on screen brightness and time spent on an iOS device.

    Al-Jamal (developer) behind FlexBright was using some questionable features to get the app to function, but its ability to slip past the App Store review process even through multiple rejections again puts a spotlight on Apple's inconsistencies and failures when it comes to reviewing apps which has happened previously.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Apple Pulls 'FlexBright', Says iOS Apps That Adjust Display Temperature Aren't Allowed started by Caiden Spencer View original post
    Comments 2 Comments
    1. miketurbo123's Avatar
      miketurbo123 - 2016-03-10, 12:46 AM
      Apple's decision to remove FlexBright is dumb. We can change our keyboards but we can't change the brightness hue of our screens to prevent eye strain. Apple logic.
    1. Caiden Spencer's Avatar
      Caiden Spencer - 2016-03-10, 01:51 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by miketurbo123 View Post
      Apple's decision to remove FlexBright is dumb. We can change our keyboards but we can't change the brightness hue of our screens to prevent eye strain. Apple logic.
      I agree however I think it is logical to Apple as they haven't even released to the general public 9.3 yet. So having this on the AppStore would impact on them as users of iOS will be like "that is old news"

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