Apple blocks App Store updates for Mac app replacing Launchpad
9to5Mac • • general
Key Points:
- Apple is blocking updates to the AppGrid app, which replicates the discontinued Launchpad feature in macOS Tahoe, citing its similarity to Apple's own product as the reason.
- Despite blocking updates, Apple has not removed AppGrid from the App Store, allowing it to continue generating revenue while preventing the developer from fixing bugs or adding new features.
- Developer Attila Miklosi appealed Apple's decision multiple times but ultimately gave up, as Apple required the app to look sufficiently different from Launchpad, which conflicted with user expectations.
- As a workaround, Miklosi now offers an alternate version of AppGrid outside the App Store, featuring additional functionalities like hot corner and pinch gesture activation that are not allowed in the App Store version.
- Apple's App Store Review guidelines prohibit apps that appear confusingly similar to existing Apple products, even if those products have been discontinued, which is central to the AppGrid update blockage.
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