Soon after posting a breakdown of the fourth generation Apple TV and Siri Remote, teardown experts iFixit have run into trouble with the tech giant for violating their terms and conditions. As a result of scuffle, the iFixit iOS app has been pulled from iTunes and is not likely to return.
The break-up began when Apple sent iFixit a developer version of their TV box. The product is not set to hit shelves until late October, so the brand sent over a pre-release model which iFixit could build and test their app on. The repair company proceeded to take the device apart, aware of the risk they were taking in going against the non-disclosure policy.
Apple is known to enforce its rules strictly, so it comes as no surprise that they sent a notice to iFixit a few days after the analysis went up. The email supposedly said the brand had taken actions which may encumber the performance of the App Store, B2B Program, or the Program. Thanks to this, its developer account had been banned.
Since the iFixit iOS app was tied to that account, it’s gotten pulled as well. The California-based company is not planning to bring it back anytime soon. In a blog post, it explained its reasoning behind the decision. According to them, the tool was outdated and still had code from the ancient iOS 4. Bringing it up-to-date with iOS 9, where it was already facing some bug issues, would be too time-consuming.
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It’s chosen to pour its limited resources into the iFixit mobile site instead. Anyone who wants to rewrite the iOS app is welcome to do so, as the tool is open-source. In the meantime, its Android application is still up and running, and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.