Apple has banned Watch apps that tell the time from the App Store, thus forbidding them from fanbois' wrists.

The terms and conditions of the store explicitly state that timepiece software is a no-go. You'll just have to use the watch faces provided by the Cupertino idiot-tax operation.

It's not the first time Apple has clamped down on user interfaces: the fine-print forbids developers from building iPhone, iPad and iPod apps that duplicate the functions of the iOS Home Screen, alter the function of physical buttons on iOS devices, and those that ape bundled iOS applications – such as Mail.

New Apple ruling ... Doesn't get more clear than that

Anyone who has studied the Apple playbook will not be surprised by this: the California biz has banned any iOS apps that directly compete with its own offerings; software in the App Store cannot mention Android nor Windows Phone, for example. Watch apps cannot acknowledge the existence of the Pebble smartwatch. Google Maps was booted out as the default mapping app in iOS, and Opera had to wait ages before it was allowed to release an iOS browser.

Apple has been able to skirt antitrust accusations on the policy as they have yet to be classified as a monopoly. That could change, however, should Apple continue its pace of selling 61 million iPhones per quarter. ®