Apple relaxing restrictions on iOS third-party development tools

By on Sep 9, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Breaking September 9, 2010

Today, in a rather surprising press release, Apple announced that it would be “relaxing some restrictions put in place earlier this year” for iOS developers. The company writes:

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 [...] In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need. In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store.

There you have it. What do you think? Is this a case of Apple taking developer feedback seriously, or are they feeling pressure from a certain, unnamed competitor?

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29 Comments

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  • Tosh.0

    Google Voice?

    • Stock Android Fan

      Hahaha, maybe when hell freezes over.

      Wishful thinking my friend

    • Jason

      Probably not, AT&T wouldn’t want that because of its super-cheap international rates.

  • drew

    wifi hot spot??? (without having to jailbreak)

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    • Andrew Munchbach

      I don’t think this decision will have any bearing on what type of applications are approved, just on how approved applications are made. Unfortunately.

      • tom

        Apple tries to bring more previous disallowed apps to App store and minimize the benefit to JB

  • Obj_me

    While it’s nice to think it’s as a result of dev feedback, which likely played a part IMO, chances are Apple would like to keep itself poised as the most populous highest grossing app store. Which is just as much keeping devs happy as it is consumers. I mean Apple isn’t stupid, they android, namely the android market as a threat. End of the day this is about protecting revenue streams…

    • Elektra

      As long as it’s a win-win situation, no one should complain. Apps have gone a long way after the success of the Apple App Store. It has provided users some useful tools, and have provided income to developers as well, and of course, income for Apple. So everyone is benefiting from it.

  • JD

    I vaguely remember the government suing or threatening to sue Apple in anti-trust and one of the issues being Apple’s restrictions on code development. Is the pressure they’re feeling from the government?

    • Elektra

      Could be various of reasons. But I think it’s mainly that Apple is still in a learning curve. They’re still a newbie in the mobile phone market. They’re still trying to figure out what will work better for everyone as they go along. Hence, there’ll be restriction changes every now and then to improve quality of services.

  • Obj_me

    Eh doubt it, apple probably has more lawyers lol. I think your referring to an anti-trust inquiry by the SEC over the exclusion of flash and flash based apps on the iOS platform…I think not %100 though

  • debbie barnes

    looks like stevo is feeling the pressure from andy

  • JM

    They were/are facing legal challenges. Apple has a strong legal team but they can only do so much.

    • Perspective

      Get a clue. Apple’s sitting on $46 billion in cash. They can hire as many firms as are necessary to rebuff most any challenge. As far as the Antitrust deal is concerned, the case against them was pretty weak. This isn’t Microsoft adjusting Windows so that Netscape installed on a Dell won’t work properly; this was Apple establishing the limits of its own App Store by doing what video game console makers have done since the 80s: require developers use its own development tools.

      • marK

        Grow up – the Fed’s inquiry was about Apple not allowing apps into their store in such a way that potentially allowed them to lockout mobile services competition: google, eliminating the need for GPS services or anything other than a mobile data plan (drop the minutes – use skype – hmm wonder why the unlimited data plan was nixed by ATT), unified stats reporting system for ads (see apple’s recent move into this market); adobe flash, don’t really need (paid) apps when you can just run a flash file in a browser and use a bookmark; VLC – about to supplant quicktime’s utility and allow practically ANY video or audio file to be played (i’ll finally be able to listen to FLAC on an apple).

        The only thing their 46 million would do is buy time–which is a good thing if you’re trying to establish market/mind share. Apple will continue to tweak their EULAs as token olive branches while trying to keep the effective result of their more-restrictive model in place for as long as possible.

        Frankly, If I buy a product it becomes mine and I can modify and do whatever I want with it (with certain exceptions). Any actions to try and limit my choices through (unfairly) eliminating the competition (see MS practices of the 80s & 90s) or reaching directly into my home and dictating how I can use something I own (see Apple) will eventually be shown as absurd. Common sense and federal law demand it. Apple’s products have the hardware to do a lot more than they’re are currently allowed to do. That’s Apple’s right, it’s their product. But when I buy it–it becomes mine to do what I want with, including opening up gimped functionality.

        If all apple wanted to do is ensure quality they would simply create an apple approved/guaranteed-to-work kind of certification. The walled-garden model is strictly a revenue issue.

        tldr – apple’s being compelled to move but they’ll drag their feet as long as possible.

      • Cha_pimp

        I hear ya, but you aren’t tricked into buying anything, with the false presumption that you will be able to modify it however you like. They are very upfront about their walled garden policies, so at the end of the day, to me it just comes down to which consumer base they want to sell too. They know, that the people who have basic tech skills, and don’t know what else is out there, and just wants to have their iProducts, out weight the tech savy gotta modify everything they own products. So if it ain’t broke….don’t fix it.

      • marK

        But that’s the point, I don’t need assurances about ‘false presumptions’ because it’s my right as the owner of the product to do with it as I please.

        I obviously don’t think EULA’s are enforceable. You mention the average consumer–there’s no meeting of the minds between the average consumer and tech companies (fact). Do you think that consumer knows that they don’t actually own their own products? That they actually paid a ‘fee’ for the licensing agreement which they don’t find out about until after they already bought and opened a box–which is packaged just like all other consumer goods and even sold in the same stores and manner–and read a 20+ page legal agreement with no consultation?

        You can’t legally ‘control’ the user experience (see MS or the 1984 Apple ad); you can guide it though.

        Apple controlling which apps are allowed to exist while also controlling how those apps are generated effectively rendered all developers as cheap out-sourced Apple employees (read: no avenue for competition–there’s only apple)!

        As you mentioned-the average consumer is not going to look outside of Apple’s ‘spotlight’, if you will. So there’s no real reason to go the extra mile and eliminate all other routes to apple’s iOS desktop unless they’re taking proactive action against current and potential competition.

        thanks for the reply and….all just my opinion…man

      • JD

        I agree – in the US at least. European regulators seem much more aggressive though and perhaps this move was made with them in mind?

        Previous victims of zealous EU regulation include MSFT and INTC.

  • counsel

    Doesn’t download code…. I guess that means. .. Flash?

  • James

    I am reading this to mean that I can submit iOS .apk’s that I generate from Flash?

    • James

      …by which I mean .ipa – you can tell what I normally deal with.

  • WalterSobchak

    How dare they bite the hand that feeds them!?!?
    It was the fart devs that got them up to 250,000, and made people say “der but teh ifone has more number of teh appz”. And now they are specifically going after the fartmen? Tisk tisk. :-(

  • xxx

    Probably pressure from FTC investigations, etc.

  • WalterSobchak

    Also, does this mean no skyfire browser?

  • Kozjegyzo

    The Little Green Robot strikes fear in Stevie… but it’s so cute :D

  • iphonechick

    I think apple is being more “open” because so many apps are the same and they need more variety.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • BJBM

    They don’t give a $hit about devs. They just see Android catching up and devs are praising it for being open and non-douchey, so they have to change. Otherwise, they will just continue to kick devs in the nads until hell freezes over.

  • Don LaVange

    Adobe stock just went up 4 bucks.

  • http://www.aretheyshoes.com mbt sneaker

    tell me why
    be cry

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