Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode centers on two recurring Apple-platform frustrations: Apple’s violation of its own push-notification advertising rules, and its inconsistent App Store enforcement around Today widgets. The hosts argue these patterns undermine developer trust and create a chilling effect. The conversation then broadens into podcasting software economics and the difficulty of building a profitable all-in-one podcast tool, before ending with a discussion of free-to-play game monetization in Crossy Road and the appeal of minimalist games like Desert Golfing.
Main Topics: Apple’s promotional push notifications and App Store hypocrisy: Marco argues Apple violated its own rule against push-notification advertising with App Store promotional messages, which is especially problematic because the App Store guideline explicitly forbids marketing via push notifications. The group frames it as part of a larger pattern of Apple ignoring or selectively enforcing its own rules. Inconsistent App Store enforcement and developer anxiety: The hosts connect the push-notification issue to Apple’s long history of arbitrary App Store rulings, including apps being rejected after approval and rules that seem inconsistently applied. They stress the resulting uncertainty, resentment, and chilling effect on developers. Today widgets: Apple’s evolving and unclear boundaries: They discuss Greg Pierce’s Drafts widget and James Thomson’s PCalc widget, both of which were subject to confusing App Review decisions. The debate focuses on whether Today widgets should be view-only or allowed to launch apps and complete tasks, and whether Apple is over-restricting useful functionality. The economics of podcasting software: The hosts analyze whether a dedicated podcast-production app could be commercially viable. They conclude the market is too small, workflows are too diverse, and existing tools are entrenched, making it hard to justify a new all-in-one product unless it targeted a narrow, high-value niche. Crossy Road’s monetization model: John praises Crossy Road as a great game but questions whether its monetization is too subtle to generate enough revenue. The group examines its coin system, character purchases, and optional ads, noting that players may enjoy the game without ever paying, which could limit earnings despite high downloads. Minimalist games and design philosophy: The conversation shifts to Desert Golfing, which the hosts admire for its brutal simplicity, persistent progress, and lack of rewards or menus. They contrast it with modern games that constantly reward players, praising its purity and procedural design.
Key Arguments: Apple’s push-notification ad breached a clear rule: apps cannot use push notifications for advertising, promotions, or direct marketing. Even if only a small number of people care about this specific notification, Apple set a bad example by violating its own policy. App Store enforcement feels arbitrary because Apple often rejects or removes apps for unclear reasons while tolerating similar behavior elsewhere. Today widgets should likely allow more functionality than Apple is currently permitting, because users deliberately choose to install them and add them to Notification Center. A podcasting app is a difficult business because the target market is tiny, workflows are heterogeneous, and most existing podcasters already have reliable toolchains. Professional software can be priced higher, but only if it provides a clear, decisive improvement over existing solutions. Crossy Road’s free-to-play model may be too friendly to users to monetize strongly, since buying characters does not improve gameplay. Desert Golfing succeeds by being brutally simple and persistent, which creates a very different and satisfying game loop from reward-heavy mobile games.
Data Points: App Store guideline number: 5.6 - The rule cited in the discussion forbids push notifications for advertising, promotions, or direct marketing. Push notifications sent by Apple: 2 - Apple reportedly sent two promotional push notifications in one hour for the Product Red promotion. Podcast directory size (Overcast): a little over 200,000 feeds - Marco used this as a rough proxy for the size of the podcast ecosystem. Podcasts with subscribers on Overcast: about 40,000 - He noted only a subset of listed podcasts have any subscribers. Overcast users: about 180,000 - Used to estimate the scale of active podcast listening. Estimated unique podcast producers: less than 10,000 - Marco estimated the number of viable producers for a specialized podcasting app. Hindenburg commercial price: $375 - Cited as a dedicated radio/podcast editing app, used to illustrate pro-tool pricing pressure. Logic price: about $200 - Used as a comparison point to show how a specialized podcast tool would have to compete. Squarespace trial price: plans start at $8/month - Sponsor mention for building websites. Getty image pricing via Squarespace: $10 per image - Described as part of Squarespace 7’s Getty integration. Lynda.com subscription price: $25/month - Used in the sponsor segment and tied to learning software like Logic. Crossy Road download rank: top 5 free / around 12th overall - App Figures ranking cited to show the game’s popularity. Crossy Road grossing rank on iPhone: around 200th - Used to argue that the game’s monetization may underperform relative to its downloads. Crossy Road grossing rank on iPad: around 300th - Further evidence that revenue lags downloads. Desert Golfing progress example: hole 203 and beyond - Used to illustrate the game’s long-form deterministic progression. Desert Golfing score examples: 743 strokes; 217th hole; 203rd hole - Specific player progress and score examples discussed in the game segment.
Pivotal Quotes: "Apps cannot use push notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind." — Marco: He reads the App Store rule to argue Apple clearly violated its own policy. "This is really setting a bad example. It’s setting a bad precedent." — Marco: He summarizes why Apple’s own promotional push notifications are troubling beyond the specific message. "It’s not the incident, it’s the surrounding sort of sadness." — John: He explains that the push-notification issue matters because it fits into a larger pattern of App Store inconsistency.
Implications: Listeners should expect Apple-platform developers to remain wary of App Store and widget policy shifts. The episode suggests that ecosystem trust is weakened when Apple ignores its own rules, and that niche software businesses must be carefully validated before launch.