The creator and developer of the iDOS 2 emulator for iPad has indicated to users that it probably won’t be long before it vanishes from the App Store. Chaoji Li announced today that Apple had found iDOS 2 to violate the App Store’s rules, giving him 14 days to correct the problems or face its removal. However, consistent with Li, bringing the app back in line with App Store rules would require removing “critical functionalities” of the emulator, which are some things he isn’t willing to try to do.
For those that might not be within the loop, iDOS 2 is an emulator for iPad that – because the name suggests – emulates DOS and allows iPad users to run DOS games on the device. Li shares the complete notice he received from Apple after attempting to push a recent update for the emulator on his personal website. Apple takes issue with the very fact that the app “installed or launched executable code” during a review of the update, noting that it violates Guideline 2.5.2 of the App Store’s rules.
Li has been updating iDOS 2 for the higher part of a year and including a note to App Store reviewers during which he states that while the app enables Document Browser mode, it doesn’t download code from the web or provide a storefront for the content which is “only runs emulation during a small portion of the screen.” therein note, Li also states that there’s no security risk because “user code is running inside emulator within the app sandbox.”
While that note was enough to assist iDOS 2 pass review whenever an update was pushed, Apple has seemingly shifted course, telling Li to make an update compliant with App Store rules within the next 14; alternatively, it’ll be far away from the sale. “The bottom line is that I can’t bring myself to chop the critical functionalities of iDOS2 to be compliant with Apple’s policy,” Li wrote on his blog. “That would be a betrayal to all or any the users that have purchased this app specifically for those features.”
Li explains that those who already purchased iDOS 2 should still be ready to download it after being far away from the App Store. However, if you don’t already own it and need to shop for it before Apple pulls it down (it costs $4.99 on the App Store), now’s the time to try to do so because Li doesn’t think it’ll be around for much longer. Here’s hoping that Apple changes its rules to be a touch more flexible because it might be a shame to lose an emulator that helps run retro software on modern platforms just like the iPad permanently.
