The curious case of a Mirror app

This is a short story about a general wondering as to how is Apple calculating and displaying app quality ratings. Or, why is an app that has 169 1-star reviews, out of 171 total, having a 4-star rating, using the UK App Store iPhone app (possibly, it’s the same in US Store too).

The application in question is the “Mirror in your pocket”. It promises to “for less than what you pay for your cup of coffee, turn your iPhone/iPod into a pocket mirror with this great application!” Yeah, right.

While this is technically possible on an iPhone 4, it certainly is not on any other iPhone or iPod touch, and the new iPhone wasn’t even available at the time of this app’s release. So what this app does is putting a frame around a blank black screen, which in some cases of outdoor using can work as a poor mirror. There’s a free version so you can see it for yourself.

So, this app is virtually useless. And this is reflected in the reviews. However, for some reason the App Store is showing a 4-star rating for it, and it’s the #4 in Top of Utilities category of UK App Store. And it definitely tricked some people into buying it:

“I got this app after reading the description, and noticing it had almost 5 stars. What a joke, you’re basically paying someone $.99 cents to put a boarder around a black background. Funny thing is this is free when the device is off. This app should be removed from the app store, and everyone who downloaded it refunded their money.”

Moreover, it also seems like its rankings were artificially elevated by suspicious reviews (which are now gone, btw):

“I bet the 41 positive reveiws are all from the author and friends. Total trash. Yet another chisler in a decaying world. I want a refund.”

Current version has 3.5-stars at 144 ratings. All versions have 2-stars at 3728 ratings. There are 170 negative reviews. The display in the UK App Store iPhone app shows 4-stars only, no version distinction. Shouldn’t Apple be after such useless and almost-scam apps instead of fighting with legit developers over things like using an iMac icon? Shouldn’t the most visible rating reflect the actual rating more? I will try to reach Apple for comments and update this post if I get a reply. Follow @f055 to get notified.