Google as Darth Vader: Why iA Writer quit the Android app market
The team behind iA Writer, a distraction-free writing app that syncs across platforms, has left its Android app “frozen in carbonite.” The app is still alive for those who had it installed, but it cannot sync with Drive or be updated. That’s because, citing Google’s security policies and the economics of paid Android apps, the iA team has given up on Android development, which it considers “an ever-tightening Force Choke.”
In follow-up emails with Ars after announcing the move on iA’s blog on September 26, Oliver Reichenstein, founder of Information Architects (iA), described feedback from users as surprisingly positive, saying he has been “stunned and pleased that our Android users understand us so well.”
“I expected a lot more people to be upset,” Reichenstein wrote. “But our inbox is full of people that understand and support our decision.”
