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Are there any limitations imposed by Apple when using beacons APIs?

For example can I design an App that uses iBeacons as part of a game and not for providing in-store marketing?

Is the app likely to be rejected?

mm24
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  • No. There is no obligation to use iBeacon for marketing. It's unfortunately the way that most of iBeacon sellers want to use. iBeacon is used for geo-localiastion at a different scale (without GPS) – Larme Jul 26 '16 at 14:41
  • @Larme I suspect that the iBeacon API under the hood uses also accelerometer and gyroscope reads. The "didEnterRegion" event happens faster when the user is walking instead of staying idle. Would you agree? I may post a separate question trying to reverse engineer the technical limitations of beacons. – mm24 Jul 26 '16 at 14:54
  • Surely. I don't know. You mean the first `didEnterRegion:` while there was already a iBeacon near by? It's all about preventing too much battery usage too I guess. But if I remember well, the iOS beacon API refresh is each second (there is a average of the data if the iBeacon emits more often). – Larme Jul 26 '16 at 14:57
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because app store approval guidelines are [off topic](http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/272165/are-developer-centric-questions-about-application-stores-on-topic) – Kara Jul 26 '16 at 23:25

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No there isn't. As an example we've delivered an app for a wearable that broadcasts itself as a beacon in order to initiate syncing on the phone (or the start of a detected activity or state change).

If you're sticking to their APIs then indeed there's plenty of use cases that have nothing to do with marketing or even location.

anabi
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  • would you have a link to the app you delivered? – mm24 Jul 26 '16 at 15:50
  • You can look for the Philips health app just release https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/philips-healthsuite-health/id1018192035?mt=8 – anabi Aug 04 '16 at 14:40
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It's a common misconception that Apple iBeacon technology is all about marketing. Not only does Apple not restrict use of the technology, it is happy to approve apps that make novel uses. I have build all kinds of beacon apps and had them approved in the store that do things with beacons like:

If you are worried about an app being rejected due to using beacons, be more careful to see that it isn't unnecessarily using location background mode. This is the main reason that I have seen beacon-based apps get rejected in the past.

davidgyoung
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