Hueman was rejected from the App Store, but these apps weren't
Hueman is an app that tracks your daily mood through simple questions and then charts your overall mental outlook using eye-catching, color-based graphs. It's a simple app by design, with the idea being that a non-intrusive approach will fit into your daily schedule without a hassle, and since a daily update to your chart is the best way to show developing trends.
Today, the Hueman team revealed that the app had been rejected by Apple due to having "a very limited set of features." To be fair, the app is quite basic in terms of interaction, but what it can tell you about yourself is far more deeper than Apple is giving it credit for.
As the rejection email notes, there are no "hard and fast rules to define useful," and as someone who has dealt extensively with Apple's app submission system in the past, I have a feeling that if the app had popped up on the screen of a different set of reviewers, it would have been approved without issue.
But if we are indeed to believe that Hueman is not functional or robust enough to warrant a spot on the App Store, I feel like Apple should apply that same rule to the following:
Best Leadership Quotes - An app that cycles through a few dozen widely available quotes from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other "leaders." That's it.
iLight i4 - A "flashlight" app that produces a white screen. Oh, and it blinks if you want it to. That's its entire feature set.
Worst Tattoo Ever - An app that cycles through photos of bad tattoos. You can save them to your phone. This is an app that costs US$2.99 in real actual cash money.
Phone Armed - I'm not even kidding here; The only thing this app does is make a sound when you move your phone. That's it. It features groundbreaking features such as: A red background, a lock icon, and (for some reason) an FBI logo. Also, it's $0.99.
In all seriousness, I'm hoping Apple will give them another go at this, because I'd be extremely interested in using the app myself. Maybe if the Hueman team just adds a flashlight feature it'll get the thumbs up?
If you find the idea of Hueman interesting, check out the official post on this matter and let your voice be heard on Twitter and Facebook.
[Image credit: Hueman app]
