Controller app cannot be approved because it does not meet Minimum Functionality?

Hi all.

I made a iPhone camera app. It works well as a stand-alone app.

My camera app is used specially for sports game. It should be installed at a place where it is hard to frequently access, like at the tip of a long pole or at the top of the wall.

Thus, I made another iPad program, which is used to monitor the camera app's screen and also control the app and also download the recorded frames from iPhone app.

I submitted iPad app and it was rejected.

The rejection reason was

Guideline 4.2.3 - Design - Minimum Functionality

We were required to install *** (my iPhone camera app) before we could use your app. Apps should be able to run on launch, without requiring additional apps to be installed.

How can a controller app work without an additional app? It is like a car remote key has its own functionality. Actually a car remote key is useless without a car itself.

Is there anyone who experienced similar tragedy?

Then please advise me what I have to do.

I may add some stand-alone feature in the iPad controller app. But it may mislead both the users and app store reviewers. Also it will make the app worse. I am really reluctant to do that.

I may not miss something.

Where does the camera app run, in which device ?

If it is in an iPad, why don't you include the controller app inside camera app.

And let user configure on his devices as "Camera" or "Controller" ?

I agree with @Claude31. You should put all the functionality in one app that can be used on an iPhone or iPad, then - with your two devices - allow the user to designate one of them as the Camera and the other as the Controller.

Note that the app should work on both iPad and iPhone, so you may have to change the layout of the iPad app you've already created.

Thanks for your reply.

The reason I made camera app and controller app separately was to prevent users from selecting the role.

To me, it seems more complicated.

Additionally, my app needs 240 fps recording, which is supported only by iPhone, not by iPad.

Hmm...

You guys think that rather let user choose the role in a single app would be better?

I may have to consider that option more seriously.

Because I already finished developing two apps, integrating them into one app is another task to me...

Doesn't the new M4 iPad Pro support 240fps? This is from the specs page: Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.

Having two apps isn't going to work. They have to provide useful functionality on their own.

If you combine the features into one app, and you only ever want the camera part of the app to run on an iPhone, then:

  • If running on an iPhone allow user to select Controller or Camera. This will allow a user with two iPhones to use one as Controller and one as Camera.
  • If running on an iPad, only allow the selection of it as the Controller. In this case I would check which models can support 240fps and allow it to be used as Camera or Controller if that iPad can support it.

I understand how smushing everything into one app will be a major change, but the guidelines have been there for years; you could've looked at them and asked us this question before embarking on the apps. I know that doesn't really help, and you may not have felt that any of the guidelines would hit you this way, but you will gain a lot of knowledge in doing this, so it's not all been wasted effort.

@darkpaw Thanks for your advice. I think I have assemble two apps into one as you advised.

Controller app cannot be approved because it does not meet Minimum Functionality?
 
 
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