Apple's 'Embarrassing' New Show Features Celebs Judging Apps

Gwyneth, will.i.am, Jessica Alba are involved
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2017 11:43 AM CST

Apple is coming out with an original reality show ... about apps. The world got its first look at Planet of the Apps this week at Recode's Code media conference, Quartz reports. It's basically a combination of Shark Tank, the reality show in which would-be entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to business titans for possible investment, and basically any reality competition show you've ever seen. Developers pitch ideas for apps to four judges: musician will.i.am (who also judges on The Voice in the UK), actresses Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow (who both started their own lifestyle brands), and Vaynermedia founder Gary Vaynerchuk. In a twist on the classic elevator speech, competitors will have 60 seconds, while coming down an escalator, to give their pitch in an attempt to get one or more judges to agree to act as their adviser.

Competitors then get to consult with experts from companies including Yelp and Uber as they work on their apps. In the end, they pitch again, this time to reps from a venture capital firm; if the firm agrees to fund an app, it ends up featured on Apple's app store. The trailer for the show, which attempts to make app developers seem like today's "rock stars," is getting panned by some who say it glosses over just how difficult it really is to be an app developer these days, CNBC reports, and Business Insider notes that even Apple fans and employees are saying the show looks "cringe-worthy." One Apple app developer went so far as to say, "Today, I am ashamed to work for Apple. This is embarrassing, and not what we work hard for." The show will premiere to Apple Music subscribers this spring. It will also, of course, have its own app. (More mobile application stories.)

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