Irony: Apple Watch Apps That Tell Time Will Be Rejected

In a bit of app-approval insight shared by developer David Smith, we’re learning that not only are Faces currently a no-go for third parties, but so are apps even generally based on presenting the time. Apple is reminding developers of this by pointing them in the direction of App Store Review Guidelines section 10.7, which states:

Watch Apps whose primary function is telling time will be rejected.

While that silly rule seems totally pointless, it’s not altogether unexpected. However, one Tweet in response to Smith’s post puts a decidedly enthusiastic bit of spin on the news, and it’s an angle I desperately want to believe will be the case going forward:

@_DavidSmith @mantia My hope is that means there will (soon) be a separate, non-app method of implementing watch faces.

— Greg Maletic (@gregmaletic) April 28, 2015