Skype, Snapchat, other iOS apps add 3D Touch commands, Apple blocks weight scale app

With Skype for iPhone, users can now press down on the app's homescreen icon to display a range of Quick Actions. Inside the app users can "peek" into shared locations, photos, contacts and URLs, as well as recent conversations, displaying instant messages or live video calls.

The latest Snapchat update adds a pair of Quick Actions, simply letting users send a chat or add a new friend. Amazon Music has likewise gained shortcuts, though the focus of the update is on new Play Queue functions.

One of the most significant updates is for Astro HQ's Astropad Mini, an app that allows iPhones to serve as drawing tablets for Mac apps like Photoshop and Lightroom. With 3D Touch support, drawing is pressure-sensitive without the need for a Bluetooth stylus.

On Gravity, developer Ryan McLeod said on Medium that the app was initially blocked from the App Store for having a "misleading description," which he speculated was because there are numerous fake scale apps sold as entertainment. Gravity didn't have such a disclaimer, since it actually works.

McLeod created a demonstration video and filed an appeal, but was later told over the phone that the concept of a scale app was not appropriate for the App Store.

Apple has a history of periodically rejecting apps that take its technologies in unexpected directions, one example being Launcher, which was briefly banned for offering a widget with customizable app shortcuts, but is now both available and fully functional.

Other reasons for Gravity's rejection however might include damage concerns — the app flashes a red warning light for objects over 385 grams — and potential associations with drug use. McLeod said he might like to resubmit one day after 3D Touch becomes more widespread.