With the iPod being one of the most iconic products in tech history, it’s no big surprise that we’ve seen two recent efforts to bring the iPod user experience — complete with a virtual scroll wheel — to the iPhone.
A few weeks back, for example, we highlighted an iOS developer who showed off an iPod Classic emulator which featured a scroll wheel and an implementation of Cover Flow. Even more recently, a music player app dubbed Rewound made its way to the App Store. The app itself is pretty basic, but the rub is that it allows users to download all sorts of skins, including an iPod design that will have you nostalgic for the music of 2006.
Rewound was developed by Louis Anslow who said that he worked on the app for upwards of a year. But as we’ve seen time and time again, Apple doesn’t care about how much time and effort you put into an app and has absolutely no qualms about removing any and every app that infringes upon its IP.
The nostalgia is strong with this one #RewoundApp #rewoundskins #ADEdu #ADEchat pic.twitter.com/t0r4ECK5TL
— Jonathan N (@jnxyz) December 11, 2019
With that said, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Apple recently removed Rewound from the App Store after it garnered well over 150,000 downloads in just a few days.
Highlighting the app’s removal via a blog post on Medium, Anslow defended the app and said it didn’t truly copy the iPod design in a technical sense.
Rewound was specifically designed not to infringe on Apple’s trademarks and we didn’t. Rewound could look many ways. Not until users started sharing/using clickwheel skins did they ban the app.
Apple have carte blanch over the AppStore and they got SALTY. The truth is:
- An optional scrolling motion to navigate a menu isn’t Apple IP
- A button layout without a wheel or scrolling navigation isn’t Apple IP
- Similar menu systems are found in all operating systems.
- Skins were user added/downloaded, we didn’t include them in the app.
- Enabling scrolling navigation, a clickwheel skin + matching layout were 100% opt-in. Users decision.
According to the post, there’s no way to update the app without breaking functionality for everyone who already downloaded it. Anslow adds that he’s not sure it’s even worth the time to upload a new version if Apple will quickly remove it again. In the meantime, Anslow is planning to develop a web app boasting similar functionality and that familiar iPod UI.
