Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently removed an app facilitating Bitcoins from its App Store; a move that hasn’t gone very well with some of the iPhone users. The removal of app, Blockchain.info, forced one of the iPhone fans to part way from his favorite device. In an email to Smh.com, Silbert, chief executive officer of New York-based SecondMarket, said “I’m switching,” and added “Shopping for a new phone this weekend.”
Tech savvy Apple loyalists are, who previously liked Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for its kindred spirit, are now expressing concerns over its policies.
Users brutally destroying iPhone
The removal of app has caused resentment among many tech lovers, and some are not afraid to hide their displeasure. Many videos have been posted online showcasing users destroying their iPhones brutally. In one of the video, user shot his iPhone with a sniper rifle while another video shows user smashing the iPhone with a metal bar. One of the users threw the iPhone down the stairs.
Bitcoins, which is a virtual currency, is only a software and transactions are concluded via computing devices. The virtual currency has gained a lot of popularity with merchants from car dealers and web stores accepting it as a mode of payment. Another Bitcoin app, Coinbase, which was removed from the App Store last year, has been popularly used by users to make payments.
Before the California based firm removed the Blockchain app, it had been downloaded 120,000 times. Previously, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has removed all other app from its store facilitating digital-money payments.
Why Apple removed the app?
Rob Banagale, the CEO of Gliph, said “Apple has been acting to suppress bitcoin apps for years,” and added “Few consumers are using bitcoin actively yet, including Apple customers.” The removal of app affects only a minimum number of the user base for Apple, which might be the reason Apple preferred to remove the app instead of “worry about regulatory oversight,” Banagale said. Gliph is also a bitcoin app, but has been allowed by Apple on its store only after the Bitcoins facility was removed.
For Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) an app has to be legal to be allowed in its store while Bitcoin’s legal status has been in question in some of the important markets for Apple including China and India.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is, also, rumored to come up with its payment system, which might be another reason why Apple s suppressing the bitcoin app. Also, the users reaction of destroying their iPhones looks a bit insane, to show their resentment against the removal of an app, and videos on the web appear more like a publicity gimmick.
