14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, Apple this week pulled Floppy Cloud from the App Store after widespread reporting that the application was not entirely on par with the company’s guidelines.
Disguised as a file manager with ties to various cloud services, including Dropbox, Floppy Cloud packed an emulator hidden behind a simplistic interface. The file management features were functional, which allowed the app to pass Apple’s tests with flying colors. However, the company had no knowledge (at the time of the approval) that Floppy Cloud had additional functionality built inside.
With Floppy Cloud on their iPhone or iPad, a user would be able to load up a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) ROM or a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) ROM and run it. A controller interface would appear, allowing the user to play the game as if it were on a real NES / SNES console.
Apple doesn’t take kindly of emulators and usually pulls them one or two days after they’re exposed. This time, it took more than two days but the same penalty was applied.
Emulators like Floppy Cloud make their way into the App Store on a regular basis, so don’t be surprised to hear that another one has emerged and then got removed. Chances are it’s the same developer(s) repackaging their app time and time again.