Apple Releases Guidance on Apps Related to COVID-19 and Explains How to Expedite Their Review

By John Voorhees

Today, on its developer site, Apple announced how its App Review team is evaluating apps related to COVID-19 to ensure that users can depend on such apps. Apple says:

The App Store should always be a safe and trusted place for users to download apps. Now more than ever that commitment takes on special significance as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities around the world are depending on apps to be credible news sources — helping users understand the latest health innovations, find out where they can get help if needed or provide assistance to their neighbors.

To help fulfill these expectations, we’re evaluating apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions. Only developers from one of these recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19. Entertainment or game apps with COVID-19 as their theme will not be allowed.

Apple also encouraged developers of apps related to COVID-19 to select the ‘Time-Sensitive Event’ option when submitting an expedited review request, so their apps will be prioritized by App Review.

Overnight, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that retail stores outside Greater China will be closed until March 27th and shared details on the steps Apple is taking to protect the physical health of its employees and retail customers. With this latest announcement, Apple is tackling the pernicious effects of misinformation by pledging to keep it out if the App Store, so customers know they can rely on the apps they download.

Apple Closes Retail Stores Outside Greater China Until March 27th and Outlines Steps It Is Taking to Protect Employees

By John Voorhees

Apple has released a statement from CEO Tim Cook about the company’s response to COVID-19. Among other things, the company is closing all of its retail locations outside Greater China until March 27, 2020. Cook said:

We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27. We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. Our online stores are open at www.apple.com, or you can download the Apple Store app on the App Store. For service and support, customers can visit support.apple.com. I want to thank our extraordinary Retail teams for their dedication to enriching our customers’ lives. We are all so grateful to you.

Apple is also moving to flexible work arrangements for employees outside of Greater China, extending leave benefits, and paying hourly workers in line with business as usual operations.

Apple’s retail stores are often crowded, especially on weekends, so it’s good to see the company take these measures for the safety of its customers and employees.

Apple Announces WWDC 2020 Will Be Held Online Only

By John Voorhees

In a move that comes as no surprise, given the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus around the world, Apple announced today that WWDC, which has been held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center for the past few years, will be held online this year. In a press release issued by the company today, Phil Schiller said:

“We are delivering WWDC 2020 this June in an innovative way to millions of developers around the world, bringing the entire developer community together with a new experience. The current health situation has required that we create a new WWDC 2020 format that delivers a full program with an online keynote and sessions, offering a great learning experience for our entire developer community, all around the world. We will be sharing all of the details in the weeks ahead.”

WWDC draws developers from dozens of countries from around the world. However, with around 5,000 attendees crammed into tight convention center quarters and many more visitors in town for events surrounding the conference, the risk to developers, Apple employees, and the San Jose community is too great to hold an in-person event. Instead, sessions will be online in June with exact dates to be announced later. With the conference moving online, Apple is also donating $1 million to local San Jose organizations.

Of course, Apple’s decision is the right one, but having attended WWDC every year since 2013, I will greatly miss the opportunity to see friends who I often only see there and meet with the developers whose apps we write about all year long. However, MacStories readers will enjoy the same kind of comprehensive WWDC coverage we’ve done in the past. Plus, we’re working on some new ideas to build on past years, so stay tuned.

Prizmo Go

By John Voorhees

John

I get asked about OCR apps for the iPhone and iPad a lot. There are a bunch of options, including Creaceed’s own Prizmo 5, which I reviewed last summer, but today I want to highlight Prizmo Go, Creaceed’s similarly-named app that is one of the most unique text recognition apps I’ve used. The app...

Q&A

By John Voorhees

Question: I’m looking for a shortcut that can extract EXIF data from one or more photos. When I share a picture, I like to add some details like ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and focal length. Can this be done via shortcuts? (Bart Vermeiren, @Bart2525)

John

Yes, it can. Earlier this week, Federico and I released...

App Debuts

By John Voorhees

Ryan

Notability Notability has long been among my favorite digital notebook apps for iPad, and in an update this week it received two new features that make it even better: Presentation Mode and Single Page Mode. The former enables you to present one of your notes on an external display free from the app’s standard...

Gnarbox Review: Exceptionally Versatile Portable Storage for iPhones, iPads, and the Mac

By John Voorhees

The Gnarbox 2.0 is ruggedized, portable SSD storage designed with photographers and videographers in mind. I’ve tried lots of different portable storage solutions in the past, and what distinguishes the Gnarbox is its ability to operate as a standalone device and as an accessory to a computing device. The mix of fast, rugged storage, an onboard operating system, wired and wireless connectivity, and complimentary software isn’t cheap. The entry-level Gnarbox is $499. However, the Gnarbox offers both the peace of mind of in-the-field backups and image and video pre-processing, making it a compelling choice for anyone who captures lots of photos and video while away from their main computing device.

Versatility and reliability are what you’re buying when you get a Gnarbox. I’ve tried other WiFi-enabled backup solutions, including Western Digital’s My Passport Wireless SSD, but in the weeks that I’ve been using a 256GB Gnarbox 2.0 that the company sent for testing, I’ve found that it’s built better, is more capable, and is easier to use than any other portable storage I’ve tried.