Mobile WebKit Development and jQTouch
Does Apple approve PhoneGap apps?
For a period last year, Apple was apparently outright rejecting apps built with the PhoneGap framework. Thanks to the persistence of Michael Nachbaur, one of PhoneGap’s developers, Apple started permitting PhoneGap based apps in October 2009 – but a question mark was still left about whether PhoneGap apps were really permitted. So I thought I’d share my experience.
Beer in Japan – Tokyo’s Best Craft Beer Bars is an free app built using PhoneGap, JQTouch, and jQuery. I chose those tools because I could build an app quickly using technologies familiar to me. Since the app is a city travel guide – a series of pages – web technologies seemed highly appropriate.
I have to confess that I got the entire app built and ready for submission to Apple before I found out about the PhoneGap rejections. When I did find out, I couldn’t help thinking to myself: Have I just wasted my time building an app that is going to be rejected because of PhoneGap?
With trepidation, I submitted the app anyway. And waited.
I more than expected the app to be rejected for some obscure reason – one that didn’t mention PhoneGap explicitly but which was clearly the reason behind the rejection, such as animations not being 100% as smooth as a native app. I couldn’t have been more surprised.
Status History from iTunes Connect
My PhoneGap app was reviewed and approved by Apple in just 24 hours and 41 minutes. The whole process from submitting the app to it being in the store: less than 5 days.
It’s clear to me from this experience that PhoneGap apps are definitely permitted in the AppStore. There wasn’t even any delay in reviewing the app – it plain sailed through. Developers can create apps using PhoneGap and web technologies with the confidence that they have every chance of getting them approved – or, at least, not rejected because they use PhoneGap.
If you’re looking to start iPhone development using PhoneGap and web technologies, I definitely recommend Jonathan Stark’s book Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – it’s a great introduction to getting a simple app running on the iPhone and is worth every penny.
Visit this page for screen shots and to download Beer in Japan – Tokyo’s Best Craft Beer Bars.