Developers have praised Apple for quickly fixing a major problem with newly updated applications on the Apple App Store that caused apps to crash when opened.

App Store

The error affected hundreds of newly updated applications and was not spotted until after the updates had been pushed live to the store. Customers eager to update their apps were met with the broken code that prevented apps from opening.

Developers have spoken to IBTimes UK about how impressed they have been at Apple's response to the problem.

Joe LeBlanc, creator of Metronome , which was one of the apps affected, told us: "What I'm seeing is- Apple has released a 'new' update for all of the apps that were affected by this bug.

"So even if the user has already updated to the latest version, the App Store is treating it as if you haven't- just in case some users still have the corrupt install. I was hoping they would do something like this, because I'm sure many users would not think to delete and reinstall."

A concern for developers was that customers who suddenly found their application broken would give the newest update a 1-star rating in the AppStore, which would have a serious effect on ranking and sales.

But LeBlanc explained to IBTimes UK: "This 're-updating' also has the effect of 'resetting' the review average. There are two review averages that iTunes tracks, your all time average and the average for the latest release only. In the app store they initially show the all time average upon a new update release, but when the app has gotten five new reviews they show only the average for the latest release. I've also heard reports that Apple is removing negative reviews from this period."

First spotted on 5 June, the error was acknowledged by Apple in a message sent to developers stating: ""We are aware of the issue related to apps crashing after update. We are currently working on resolving the issue. Stay tuned for updates."

Hours later, Apple confirmed that it had fixed the problem: "We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded. The issue has been rectified and we don't expect it to occur again."

Despite the losses in business, LeBlanc praised Apple for fixing the issue quickly: "Apple handled this situation really good this time. The issue itself was too wide to ignore it and was covered by all major tech press. Therefore Apple had to react fast. They fixed the problem on server and removed all user ratings from the app store for the affected updates."

LeBlanc said that he is "highly doubtful" that the problems will cause revenue to drop, adding that, despite being a bit of a headache: "Overall I think the situation has been handled as well as could be expected. I was in touch with Apple support on the phone yesterday.

"They were surprisingly easy to get in touch with and they reassured me they were working on the problem (now completely solved) and also understood my concerns about negative reviews that were a result of this bug."

This praise of Apple was echoed by Readdle CEO Igon Zhadanov, who spoke to IBTimes UK after his app Scanner Pro became unusable after the update.

"Apple handled this situation really good this time. The issue itself was too wide to ignore it and was covered by all major tech press. Therefore Apple had to react fast. They fixed the problem on server and removed all user ratings from the app store for the affected updates."

ITunes