The world of technology is in a state of shock with the impromptu release of several significant apps that claim to be from Apple on the Android Play Store. Without any prior warning, it would seem as though Apple had finally decided to drop the likes of GarageBand, iPhoto and Keynote for Android, but our better judgment leads us to suspect they are big, fat clones.
The popular Apple apps from the iLife and iWork packages look very plausible indeed, and with prices between five and ten bucks, this scam – which we believe is a rather nasty one – wouldn’t need more than a day and some word-of-mouth to make a significant haul of cash.
Apple is unlikely to release these apps for Android anyway, but if it were to, we’d expect at least a press release or announcement in advance. Bringing some of its major applications to Android would be quite a big deal after all, so it would appear these releases are the brainchild of a rather clever scammer.
Nobody likes being the victim of unwanted or malicious activity, but people seem genuinely intrigued when an unwanted act is as well thought-out as it is executed. Whoever is behind these releases has certainly left very little to chance, and having taken the Cupertino company’s identity with Apple Inc, the homepage directs straight to Apple’s official homepage.
As if that wasn’t enough, the email address – android@apple.com – seems legitimate enough, and it’s easy to see how some could – and perhaps already have – been tricked into believing these apps were the real deal. Those of us that immerse ourselves in technology would smell a rat seeing these big releases drop so randomly, but your general Google Play visitor may not be so lucky.
The advice is simple – do not buy any of the apps. If you already have, you can get yourself a refund within fifteen minutes.
As we hope Google quite quickly removes these apps, it does throw up a question or two. Notably, would any of us want to see the likes of Keynote, Numbers or Pages ported through to Android? My instincts tell me the answer of most will be a resounding “no,” but do let us know your thoughts via Facebook or Google+.
(via Phandroid)
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