Apple has always feigned a very strict and even preemptively cynical and condescending attitude toward developers regarding App Store approval. In their official statements, they always say things to the tune of "this isn't amateur hour. You're playing in the big leagues now. If your app doesn't have a polished feel to it, then it will simply be rejected." https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guid...

Despite this, they'll go ahead and approve apps which are so horrible that your middle school programming teacher would have failed you if you had created it as your first project in HyperCard. For example, have a look at this atrocious pile of garbage, which was allowed to sit at the #2 spot in the iOS free app charts for nearly three solid weeks earlier this year after Flappy Bird was pulled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vk1BnfJ7UM&t=1m50s

(and no, that's not a poorly recorded video; it's showing the actual gameplay frame rate.)

I don't think we can have an honest discussion about App Store rejections or approvals without discussing this elephant in the room: Overly-simple, ridiculously ugly games. In the past month, all kinds of ugly stick figure and moving rectangle-based games have reached the top 10 of the iOS free app charts. The creators weren't even reaching for an 8-bit aesthetic, the games were just simply horribly made and rushed out the door. These apps were inexplicably accepted into the App Store despite their horrendous quality. Some examples of games which reached the top 10:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-line/id880338977

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/make-them-jump/id900211132

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazing-brick/id905455244

Those games in particular were created by the same crooks (Ketchapp) infamous for being the first to port 2048 to mobile without the true creator's permission. I'm assuming everyone playing that clone of 2048 was shown ads pointing to their new games, which resulted in those games being artificially pumped to the top 10. While that is despicable in itself, what is equally as vexing is that those hideous games were ever approved for the App Store in the first place.

There is a massive disconnect between what Apple says regarding their review process and what actually happens. They can say whatever they want, but in actual reality, it's essentially random and luck-based, and dependent upon whatever mood the reviewers happen to be in. (And apparently it helps if you've already been successful on the App Store before. "Oh, your app looks absolutely terrible? Well, you made us a lot of money with your 2048 rip-off once, so it's no problem; go ahead and flood us with your worst!")