iOS App Rejected for being HTML5

mobile
1

Anyone else with this issue?

Here’s the full message:

  1. 3 Performance: Accurate Metadata
  2. 1 Design: Copycats
  3. 2 Design: Minimum Functionality

Guideline 2.3.10 - Performance - Accurate Metadata

We noticed that your app or its metadata includes irrelevant third-party platform information. Specifically, Android is mentioned in the home screen of the binary, both on a button and in text.

Referencing third-party platforms in your app or its metadata is not permitted on the App Store unless there is specific interactive functionality.

Please see attached screenshots for details.

Next Steps

To resolve this issue, please remove all instances of this information from your app and its metadata, including the app description, What’s New info, previews, and screenshots.

Since your iTunes Connect status is Rejected, a new binary will be required. Make the desired metadata changes when you upload the new binary.

Guideline 4.1 - Design - Copycats

Your app or its metadata appears to contain misleading content. Specifically, your app includes content that resembles Star Commander Online without the necessary authorization.

Please see attached screenshots for details.

Next Steps

Please demonstrate your relationship with any third-party brand owners represented in your app.

Guideline 4.2 - Design - Minimum Functionality

Your app provides a limited user experience as it is not sufficiently different from a mobile browsing experience. As such, the experience it provides is similar to the general experience of using Safari. Including iOS features such as push notifications, Core Location, and sharing do not provide a robust enough experience to be appropriate for the App Store.

Please see attached screenshots for details.

Next Steps

To resolve this issue, please revise your app to provide a more robust user experience by including additional native iOS functionality.

If you cannot - or choose not to - revise your app to be in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines, you may wish to build an HTML5 web app instead. You can distribute web apps directly on your web site; the App Store does not accept or distribute web apps.

HTML5 is the major new version of HTML and enables audio and video to play natively in the browser without requiring proprietary plug-ins. Using HTML5, web apps can look and behave like native iPhone and iPad apps, and using HTML5’s Offline Application Cache, a web app can work even when the device is offline. With web apps, you have flexibility to deliver as much or as little functionality as you desire.

To get started with iPhone or iPad web apps, please review the Safari Client-Side Storage and Offline Applications Programming Guide.

For a description of the HTML elements and attributes you can use in Safari on iPhone, check out Safari HTML Reference: Introduction.

2

I don’t see where it says it is rejected because it is HTML5.

It just looks like you’re going to iron out a few kinks and that’s it.

4 Likes
3

Thanks for the fresh eyes, Ill try again next week.

4

Sure, if you like, break down your problems into smaller tasks and we can discuss them separately, this should not take too long to resolve. Have a great weekend!

5

Thanks friend! Well I just found another post for another issue, but buddy has an uploaded iOS app.

So I think i’ll just go back through, change some stuff, blah blah blah, do the hoola dance Apple wants, and it looks like itll work.

I’m also going to add cordova packages like file system, camera, etc… Just to have them. Should get me through the door.

1 Like
6

Our own app Guzz, which is also built using Meteor, Cordova and HTML5, was accepted without any problems. I guess they are mainly saying that your app does not offer enough “benefit” compared to just calling the SCO website in Safari. And it seems as if they did not understand that you are the owner of SCO in the first place. Maybe they think you want to piggyback your own game :slight_smile:

7

That is absolutely appalling! Web apps don’t get homescree app-icon treatment, therefore telling us to ship them as browser apps is just wrong. We want the end user to have our “app” on their home screen. Maybe we can sue them?

8

Actually, you can: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/ConfiguringWebApplications/ConfiguringWebApplications.html

9

Ah, that’s cool. I missed that!

But still, people searching for apps in the app store won’t find your app. That’s a big deal!!

10

I made a html5 app for a client with meteor and Framework 7. appstore was cool with it. It was quite a big app, tons of functionality, took 6 months to build.

  1. Metadata rejection means your app information needs changing, no issue with the binary /actual app.

  2. If your app doesn’t have push notification, then obviously app store review team can indeed object that it isn’t that different from a mobile browsing experience.

My app was rejected couple of times on issues like metadata rejection, ipv6 internet issue etc. We complied ( had to really, can’t let go of 6 month’s of work ) and the app store review team approved them eventually. One time the issue was on the second/third binary update when they complained that we need to supply the app’s screenshots for ipad too since the app is claiming to be ipad compatible.

So change these cosmetic issues + push notification and see what happens, @SkyRooms.

1 Like
11

Just to add to add to what everyone else is saying. I have submitted my meteor app to both iOS and Play Store with no issues. Got rejected a few times due to location services running in background but always got approved after further clarification from myself.

12

Awesome, thanks everyone. Been a busy week (server migration), so, I’ll circle around again later.