End-of-life information for THE SILENT HISTORY, TOUCH SENSITIVE, and TYPING WRITER.
Removed from sale on October 20th, 2023.

October 13, 2023

More sad news from the digital realm. We are removing our final three apps—The Silent History, Touch Sensitive, and Typing Writer—from the App Store.

As with our other apps that died too soon, even though they continue to work on modern iPhones and iPads, Apple deletes apps that haven’t been updated for a while. Modernizing these decade-old apps to meet Apple’s latest rules and guidelines is simply too much work for a handful of yearly sales. And so, alas, die they must…

Note: The Silent History requires a server backend for some functions, such as accessing Field Reports. We will keep this server up and running for twelve months after the app is removed from sale. (The server went offline in October 2024).

They were removed from sale on October 20th, 2023.

Thank you, again, for all your support over the years! We had fun.

Russell and Eli

End-of-life information for THE PICKLE INDEX and THE NEW WORLD
Removed from sale on November 13th, 2020.

November 13, 2020

It is with leaden hearts that we announce the end of The Pickle Index and The New World on iOS and iPadOS.

Apple’s current policy is to remove apps from the App Store that have not been updated in a significant amount of time. The Pickle Index and The New World were both released in 2015 and while they continue to run on newer iPhones and iPads, they do not take advantage of modern screen sizes and other fancy technological wonders.

Unfortunately, sales of these apps have slowed to such a level that it’s just not worth our time updating them to comply with Apple’s latest rules and regulations. Therefore, they have succumbed to their bit-rot fate—a poignant reminder of the futility of making digital art!

They were removed from sale on November 13th, 2020.

Thank you for all your support over the years!

Russell and Eli 😢

FAQ

Q. What’s happening?
The Silent History, Touch Sensitive, and Typing Writer were removed from the App Store on October 20th, 2023. The Pickle Index and The New World were removed on November 13th, 2020.

Q. Why?
The apps hadn’t been updated in “a significant amount of time” and were going to be removed by Apple. Unfortunately, we sold so few near the end that we couldn’t justify the work to modernize them.

Q. Does this affect all the apps?
Yes, after October 20th, 2023 none of Sudden Oak’s apps or bundles will be available.

Q. I already own one or more of these apps. How does this affect me?
In Apple’s words: “Your app will remain fully functional for current users. They will experience no interruption to services, will still be able to buy in-app purchases, and can re-download the app while restoring from an iCloud backup.”

However, it’s likely that updates to iOS will make the apps unusable at some point. This might be in a year. It might be in five years; maybe ten! We don’t know.

Q. What about your apps that require a server to run?
We kept The Silent History server running for one year after it was removed from the App Store, but it was taken offline in October 2024. We kept The Pickle Index server running for two years after it was removed from the App Store, but it was taken offline in November 2023. The New World, Touch Sensitive, and Typing Writer do not require a server backend.

Q. I have another question…
Email us at support@suddenoak.com