Mr. Jobs, Tear Down This Wall
12:31 pm, September 4th, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
Image credit: oryannasreadingjournal.blogspot.com/
If Apple wanted to stand the world on its ear next Wednesday at the It’s Only Rock and Roll But We Like It event in San Francisco, the company would announce it is opening iPhone software development to all comers and is dropping the facade of exclusive distribution through the iTunes App Store.
Heresy, you say? Perhaps in the eyes of some, but read on to learn why those two moves would be best for the company, the platform, for developers and – most of all – consumers.
The original justification for tightly controlling the development environment for third-party iPhone software was that the iPhone and Apple’s mobile operating system were new things in the world, markers of a journey mankind was just beginning – Apple owed it to the brand and to its customers to make sure development was done right.
Fair enough. But that was two years ago. The platform is on its third major firmware iteration. How the iPhone works and how software needs to be built to integrate with its operating system is well-known by anyone who might take an interest in the matter. It’s being taught in schools.
Apple loses nothing by making freely, publicly available the current version of the iPhone SDK and saying, “developers of the world, take your best shot.”
The company could still maintain an “official” iPhone SDK community, collect developer registration fees and even prioritize release of new features to those willing to work in the “certified” environment.
But letting anyone else have a crack at it would only lead to more innovation and would also gain Apple invaluable goodwill in a world that has lately come to view the company’s former good guy/underdog reputation with healthy measures of skepticism and even scorn.
Developers would benefit by getting access to what is clearly the most well thought-out mobile OS, access that would only increase developer interest in the platform, ensure its continued refinement, growing exponentially the lead Apple’s head start already gave it over Palm, Android and Windows mobile OSs. Now is not the time to let competitors catch up while Apple is busy trying to keep its genie in the bottle.
Among the many great innovations Apple has produced over the years, perhaps none has been more successful while at the same time generating more negative publicity than the App Store.
With the App Store, Apple revolutionized the market for software distribution and by prevailing accounts it has been a winner for the company and for developers alike. But at what cost to the brand, and at what cost to the company’s formerly god-like reputation among developers?
Gatekeepers, censors, tyrannical, inscrutable, secrecy obsessed, maddeningly inconsistent, uncommunicative, capricious, unfathomable bastards the Apple iPhone Software Review Team has been called.
Phil Schiller has been forced to hand-hold and publicly make up with prominent bloggers and developers who have had it up to here with the company’s App Store policies, all of which has tarnished what ought to be seen as an unqualified revolution in the way ideas come to market.
It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s not that way for developers and consumers who trade in 3rd party software for the Mac. There’s a ton of great software out there and developers make good money working to meet the needs and desires of Mac users worldwide. Why shouldn’t it be the same for iPhone users?
Again, the original justification was that nothing like it had ever been done, so everything had to be tightly controlled. But as we’ve seen, the beta period is over. The horses have left the barn and it’s time to let them run free.
Keep the App Store, by all means. It’s a great product, convenient and easy to use for consumers, and an invaluable marketing platform for developers who calculate their best route to success through its portal.
But it doesn’t have to be the exclusive means for putting useful software on a device consumers spend hundreds of dollars on. The world is not going to come to an end – everyone’s iPhone will not stop working – if a bonehead developer releases a piece of crapware and it gets on to someone’s device.
The market itself will root out the diamonds and pearls – that’s what a free market economy does, isn’t it?
Consider this scenario: next Wednesday, Phil Schiller takes the stage at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center and announces iTunes 9 with shiny new things like cool album cover art options and drag and drop application organizing features, even pre-made ringtones.
We get new iPods for the Holidays, maybe some awesome added features to the iPod Touch, and it looks like the show is gonna be over. People are starting to think, “ho hum,” when Schiller says, “…and there’s just one more thing…”
Steve Jobs comes out to a tumultuous ovation and says to the assembled press, “During my absence I’ve been doing a lot of looking and listening and I’ve heard the call – Mr. Jobs, tear down this wall. Starting today, we’re announcing an unbounded horizon for the greatest mobile device and mobile operating system the world has ever seen…”
Apple stock could hit $200 by Wednesday’s market close.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Apple, Opinions, Steve Jobs, Top stories, iPhone, iTunes | Comment on this article
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People have confused Apple with being underdogs for a long time with perhaps something else, but now that they’re very successful in the mainstream they haven’t changed their philosophies. They’ve never been a champion of openness, they’ve always favored vertical integration over openness. That’s why it tends to just work.
francis, on September 4th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
you’re nuts. the only people who don’t like app store policies are developers. developers are the crankiest people on the face of the planet. remember they are nerds. nothing is worse in this world than a cranky nerd who fail to see the positive of something and complains simply because they don’t like “their” angle on something. much like you.
consumers love the app store. the don’t even know why. opening it up for everyone is going to make them love it less since what apple HAS done and you fail to give credit for is create an a vibrant ecosystem that is safe, virus free, affordable, with great retention and innovation.
why would apple want to change that? so a few developers that don’t like flee – who cares but those developers? apple may seem to tell you that they care but does the consumer care? no. other developers will follow doing the same thing that those who fled were doing only with a better attitude more excitement and as a result more innovative product.
i suppose the world should get ready for this type of asinine overly biased garbage as real journalism fades in favour of amateurs blogging on the net.
mr. nice, on September 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Just from reding your last paragraph (200) i passed on reading this long article.
Needs more journalists!
Look, on September 4th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
“Needs more journalists!”
Blogs aren’t news organizations.
Open source iPhone and after-market app distribution is great idea. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – Apple isn’t going to satisfy the few who live for this stuff if the mass market consumer is clueless what any of that even means.
Sad, but true.
jh, on September 4th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
wait till you download some app with spyware that steals your credentials stored on the device and you will cry a river for suggesting this craziness… it’s their game, take it or leave it
“There’s a ton of great software out there and developers make good money working to meet the needs and desires of Mac users worldwide.”
AppStore is their channel, you’re comparing apples with oranges…
“The horses have left the barn and it’s time to let them run free.”
I think it’s not the horses but your bees who are running free:)))) SMS hack in OS 3.0 plus neverending mouse and cat with pwn teams for unlocking the device? You can do better sir.
mark, on September 4th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
“ditto” all four above comments.
From my perspective:
Apple Fan: The App Store is a huge game-changing, money-making success. A little tweaking is all it needs.
Consumer: I love my iPhone. I need my iPhone safe. Apple keeps me safe. I don’t know, or trust, Mr. 3rd Party Developer who’s either a hack or a hacker.
YodaMac, on September 4th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Do not follow stock advice from bloggers.
WiseMan, on September 4th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Keep the app store the way it is. One of the unique features of Apple is that is controls more of the software that goes on their machines. Look at PCs and see how when you get too much of the worng software on a system it comes out as problems. Let Apple keep it all compatable and keep its uniqueness as well.
PDM777, on September 4th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Since there are people running hackintoshes does that mean that Apple should open up the OS for any thrown-together computer with an x86 processor?
In the end Apple is the one that has to support their hardware. Who do you suppose the iPhone owner is going to call when their phone is borked?
Sites like uquery.com are going to pop up to help fill the gaps in the iTunes app store experience.
Barry Wood, on September 4th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
sorry, but this is a total fantasy. Apple is going to do it their highly controlled way – that is their essence – whether you/we like it or not. take it or leave it. but please just stop whining about it.
Alfiejr, on September 4th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Man. you guys are really from the cult, just following anything that Apple says. I love the app store but I agree with Lonnie, “it doesn’t have to be the exclusive means for putting useful software on a device consumers spend hundreds of dollars on.” The iphone OS has been around long enough to take software developed and distributed outside of Apple’s shady App store policy.
If I can get apps without Apple’s approval for my Mac I don’t see the reason why getting applications straight from a developer is such a bad idea.
Diego, on September 4th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Frankly, I think Google has the right idea. Yes, there’s a store where Apple vets things. But you can also get Apps directly from the developers. Let people decide for themselves.
Now, onto some of the comments.
First, the “virus-free” thing. I love this one.
Ask any Mac Fanboi about viruses and Mac OS X and they’ll tell you how Mac OS X is so much more secure than Windows because it’s designed with security in mind and contains 20 years of security enhancements because of it’s Unix underpinnings. Then ask them about the iPhone and they’ll tell you that the great thing about iPhone is that it runs OS X, just like the Mac.
Then you ask the question, “If Mac OS X is so secure, why is the iPhone so insecure that it needs Apple to make sure that there are no viruses?”
The expression is usually priceless.
As for the complaints about developers, I would point out that developers are the ones writing the software. The developers that “flee” may be the ones who create the next “killer app.” Would you rather they do it on Android or RIM or Palm or WinMo?
For example, I bought an iPhone a couple of months ago. I love it. But in two years, when my AT&T contract is up, would I buy another one? Or would I rather go over to, say, Android or RIM, where I can use Google Voice to manage all of my communications? If Google Voice gives me options that Apple doesn’t, why would I want to stick with the iPhone?
Everyone talks about “smart phones” as the next big application platform. I won’t disagree. But consider the Apple II versus the IBM PC. The Apple II had more applications than the IBM PC. But most of them were games and such. Even so, Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, and dBase caused lots of IBM PCs to be bought. And we all know what happened to the Apple II.
So it’s in Apple’s best interest to consider what those developers want. They probably know their market better than Apple does.
Here’s a silly example: Suppose I develop a “Digital Whoopie Cushion” application. You know where a really great venue for selling it would be? No, not the App Store–Joke shops! I could go to a joke shop and buy a CD with software on it, plug it into my computer, and have it download to my iPhone or iPod touch.
The App Store is a great place to sell stuff that people are looking for. If you’re thinking, “Gee, my $700 iPhone would be a great way to make fart noises. I wonder if there’s an App for that?” then you go visit the App Store and find it. But if you never think about the iPhone as a way of making fart noises, how will you know it’s possible?
Again, it’s up to developers to advertise and promote their products. Apple will give you a couple of weeks in the “recently added” list and that’s about all Apple guarantees. Everything else is up to you. But with only one distribution path–the App Store–how do you get your product in front of customers who might be interested? Especially with an “impulse buy” item like a digital whoopie cushion?
If you help your developers, they will create innovative applications that will help sell your hardware. If you don’t, you end up with hundreds of tip calculators.
Peter, on September 4th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Developers who don’t want to play by Apples rules should take their product to another platform, like Android, Windows Mobile or Palm Prē. (Oh wait; WebOS apps are glorified Web Pages, just like iPhone 1.0 WebApps from 2 years ago. Sorry).
If their philosophy of an open market for Mobile Apps works they will succeed. Their preferred platform will flourish and the iPhone may have some realistic competition (as opposed to the current pile of mediocre copy-cat pretenders).
If the anarchy of unregulated Apps does cause problems, their preferred platform will fail dismally and the next platform can step up to the plate.
Regardless, Apple are just going to continue in the direction they are currently travelling in, until they have a better direction.
Dan Woods, on September 4th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Developers are whining because of greed per se and nothing else.
@peter
Apple is approving apps because they want the best experience for the users and also prevent all sorts of nasty things from happening. Imagine they don’t have this approval thing in place and a hack makes a very interesting app with a trojan that steals passwords and what have you. Those affected will be howling and MS apologists will be screaming with foamy mouth how bad the iPhone is. The bad PR created will be a nightmare for Apple. So to play it safe rather than sorry it is better to have the approval scheme in place.
BTW Developers know nothing about marketing, if they do they wouldn’t be developing but making big bucks as marketing directors.
AdamC, on September 4th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Well, this consumer freakin’ hates the app store. It’s not being run with my interests in mind, it’s being run to protect Apple’s interests… which they do by limiting my ability to choose any application that might compete with one of theirs. Or they ban applications for no apparent reason at all.
The abomination that is Mobile Safari is a prime example. When iPhone 2.0 rolled out, I couldn’t get Mobile Safari to run for more than 5 minutes without crashing. It took many, many revisions of the iPhone OS before an actually usable version of the browser came out. On any other platform, it would have been replaced by Firefox or Opera long before – but the App Store obviously wouldn’t approve a competing browser.
Don’t get me wrong, I think a repository of vetted software is a great idea. But being forced to use Apple’s repository and nothing else really sucks.
Sean Peters, on September 4th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
i disagree with you. Apple should not more change their game with the phone than they do with Mac OS. they are in the game, as you say, to provide the best experience and restriction, not freedom, is how to do that.
also, you are incorrect on one of your statements. You say that Apple has been in this game for 2 years and that is erroneous. They have been in the iphone game for 2 years, but the App Store (focus of your article) is only one year old. If you are going to make a statement, make a fully correct one. Especially when the correct facts are very much known
Charli, on September 5th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Actually, the store is there is provide content for the consumer, so they have another reason to buy an iPhone… it’s similar to their Mac development, where they produce some first-party software that’s only available on the Mac and many third parties also follow suit. Anyway, the reason Apple has been somewhat restrictive with its apps, I blame entirely on AT&T… let’s see, Google Voice, a competitor… Skype, a competitor… Sling Media Player? competitor… all of these have been neutered to the point where AT&T can’t make any serious grounds for rejection (Google Voice was put on a web interface, so they can’t reject that). As far as I can see, Apple’s doing a pretty good job overall for the App Store, which is why there’s still a torrent of apps coming in from developers. It’s only the select few that get rejected that complain about lack of approval and in this area, yes, Apple could be more clear on their approval policies.
But it’s just easier for consumers to search one store rather than trying to search multiple stores. I mean, if the iPhone wasn’t dependent on a carrier (hint hint AT&T exclusivity contract), would Apple really care if tethering or VOIP over 3G was on it or not? I’m going to guess they wouldn’t, because it would only help them to have those features.
Mike Li, on September 5th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Come on, Apple will fix the problems with the App Store, which are few and minor, and totally blown out of proportion by bloggers. Basically they are approving thousands of apps a week a every now and then, a good app gets disapproved by mistake. This is a new frontier. There are going to be problems. Just look at the issues other “app store” clones are having and they’re not even doing .01% of Apple’s volume!
The growth of the App Store has even Apple astonished. There’s been nothing like it in history. iPhone/iTouch was a phenomenon coming out of nowhere to be the ultimate electronic gadget. The App Store somehow tops that. Just be patient and Apple will get things right. If in two years we’re still complaining about Apple rejecting apps for silly reasons, that’s maybe a time to call for a different approach. But for right now, Apple’s method works best for consumers and developers.
Marc, on September 5th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Did you even research this article ! Go to the apple developer site and lo and behold you’ll find that the developer kit is available for free to anyone and anyone van write and publish iPhone apps. Also contrary to your article, most of us developers LOVE the AppStore. It levels the playing field and creates a larger variety of apps – not less – by allowing anyone with an idea to create and publish an app. Another bleeding heart liberal you are that doesn’t know WTF you are talking about!
Wingspinner, on September 5th, 2009 at 11:07 am
“Imagine they don’t have this approval thing in place and a hack makes a very interesting app with a trojan that steals passwords and what have you. Those affected will be howling and MS apologists will be screaming with foamy mouth how bad the iPhone is.”
Gee, people don’t read anymore, do they?
My God, AdamC, you’re right! Why, I’m amazed my computer running Mac OS X has somehow survived the onslaught of damaging trojans! What’s that? I don’t have any trojans or malware because I run Mac OS X? Good thing Mac OS X is so secure, unlike that insecure POS iPhone OS X that requires Apple to approve everything that is run on it.
Is that what you’re saying?
Are you now going to tell me that the iPhone is so popular that it would have scores of damaging trojans and viruses, unlike Mac OS X? So does that mean that the popularity of the operating system is proportional to the viruses? But all those Mac Fanbois tell me that’s not the case.
Really, Adam. Come up with some new talking points. Those are getting old.
“BTW Developers know nothing about marketing [...]“
Yeah. And African Americans like watermelon. Time to put aside your prejudices.
“(Oh wait; WebOS apps are glorified Web Pages, just like iPhone 1.0 WebApps from 2 years ago. Sorry).”
Except that you don’t actually HAVE to be connected to the Internet in order to run WebOS apps, unlike iPhone 1.0.
By the way, check out sigalert.com. There’s an iPhone Web App that looks and feels pretty much like an App on the phone. Most of the iPhone Apps are glorified web pages. The Band of America app? What, they couldn’t figure out how to do a web page? Yelp? Discovery Channel? These all get their content from the Internet–no Internet connection, no data.
“Go to the apple developer site and lo and behold you’ll find that the developer kit is available for free to anyone and anyone van write and publish iPhone apps”
Well, the SDK is available for free. But if you want to actually run your application on an iPhone, you need to pay Apple $100. Not a huge deal, granted, but your statement is inaccurate.
“[The App Store] levels the playing field and creates a larger variety of apps – not less – by allowing anyone with an idea to create and publish an app.”
Right. Which is why there are hundreds of tip calculators and fart machines.
Hell, look at Apple software. Let’s say I want to go buy iWork. I can buy it, via the web, from Apple. I can also buy it, via the Web, from MacConnection, MacWarehouse, Amazon, MacMall, etc. If I feel like leaving the house, I can go to an Apple Store, Fry’s Electronics, MicroCenter, or a variety of Independent Apple Resellers.
An even more entertaining example: I can buy the Nike+ accessory for my iPod in Footlocker, in the shoe departments of many department stores, or in an Apple Store.
So if having one method of distribution is good enough for iPhone developers, why isn’t it good enough for Apple? Why shouldn’t I have to go to an Apple Store in order to buy a Nike+ accessory for my iPod? After all, one method of distribution is certainly good enough for everything, right?
By the way, I’m not necessarily against the App Store. I think it’s a great thing. In fact, by allowing developers to distribute their own Apps, Apple could actually clean up the App Store–remove the hundreds of tip calculators that basically do the same thing. They could restrict Apps that people might find offensive without having to worry about free speech issues. Want to make an App that shows public figures on trampolines? Go for it–just know that Apple won’t distribute it and it’s up to you. They can say, “This is just stupid” and not distribute it. This can make the store even more useful by helping customers find Apps that may be useful.
Peter, on September 5th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I just bought an iMac 24″ machine. I dont want anything “opened up” if it means that my $1500 purchase wasnt necessary.
Mike, on September 5th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
The AppStore has recreated the market for independent software. If you didn’t notice, that went away a while ago. I’m amazed at how it never occurs to coders to consider exactly why that is. There’s an endless drone of demands, which, if implemented would put a premature end to the market. Then you’d be back to peddling shareware on your obscure little websites while working for insurance companies.
Mike
Mike Farr, on September 6th, 2009 at 12:10 am
What a POS “article.” Most of it’s absolute gibberish, and the few sentences with any meaning are just wrong. Poorly worded, poorly argued.
Add this to the “writings” of the site owner and it equals a good reason never to read this site again.
This is the last straw. I’m not wasting my time with this crap site any longer.
Returning to the world of reason and deleting bookmark ….. now.
Gazoobee, on September 6th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Why should Apple do like the rest of the other companies, as the other companies (including Google, the champion of free services and open-source software) are moving in the same direction as Apple, opening App stores for their platform ?
And as far as I am concerned, I don’t care about the stocks reaching 200$.
Frederic, on September 6th, 2009 at 12:48 am
The so-called wall doesn’t exist.
The point missed in most editorials about iPhone app development and distribution is the fact that the platform is already free and totally wide open, unfettered by any guidelines whatsoever. It’s called the Internet, and it already runs on multiple browsers on the iPhone. If you squint, however, you’ll notice that the Internet is not all it’s cracked up to be, and in fact it’s riddled with cheese and slime, and badly broken business models. That bubble burst a long time ago. Native apps fare much better in terms of user experience, and the business model is much more sound (such as it is).
So, we already know what free will get for the consumer, because it already exists, and articles like this one completely miss the point.
BobF, on September 6th, 2009 at 9:13 am
1. So far the model author speaks of, is not working in the mobile space. Why would Apple dream of copying a business model that doesn’t seem to be working?
2. Yes, it’s about assuring quality apps, in the sense of working well with the iPhone OS, not in the sense of whether or not it’s useful. “Opening up the App store won’t make apps any more useful, and it won’t make them more compatible with the OS either.
3. The app store actually protects developers by providing them with built in DRM which it turn allows them to charge minimal fees for their software. Instead of the low volume, high cost model of software on computers and previous cell phones, developers can make money on a high volume/low cost model, something that probably would not be possible without the baked-in DRM.
4. Mobile devices have many more constraints than desktop devices: battery life, screen size, RAM, processor speed. Apple would be foolish to open everything up at this point. Consumers will blame Apple for problems, not the developers.
5. Finally, the whole iPhone platform is just that, a platform and Apple is not about to give away the crown jewels to the platform–completely open App access to all comers. You’re completely missing the whole Apple way of thinking, doing business, philosophy. They will not allow any strategic part of the platform to be controlled by a third party. That’s the mistake they made by letting MS develop Office in the 80s and Adobe develop Premiere and Photoshop in the 90s. When times got tough for Apple, both of those companies started to let those critical pieces of Mac software slide. Office hasn’t had feature parity on the Mac in years and at one point, Adobe was recommending that people buy PCs instead of Macs.
Ain’t gonna happen again.
Apple is clearly willing to let lots of third parties benefit off of App creation and peripherals with the iPhone. But they will never give complete access to anyone in either of those areas.
Synthmeister, on September 6th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
The best example of the possible “success” of an open App Store? Look at the (almost completely dead and filled with crap) Andriod Market.
Ryu, on September 7th, 2009 at 2:35 am
This article is maddening. I am a consumer. I actually want developers to have to jump through hoops. I’ve never heard of many of these developers, I don’t want them to have my credit card details and I want to know that the apps are safe. The App Store is worry-free and it’s fantastically fun and addictive. I really don’t care about these moaning developers who seem to entirely disregard the fact that if it weren’t for Apple, they wouldn’t have ever dreamt of the position they are in today. There was nothing like this before. Apple handles their transactions, their distribution, their catalogue, their SDK… what more do you want? Stop biting the hand that feeds you; the consumer doesn’t care that you have to wait a week or two to see if it’s approved. Yes, there needs to be a rule book. Apple will be writing one as we speak. But this is unchartered territory and Apple need to make it up as they go along. You can’t blame for that, the project is unprecedented. A rule book will come, but hopefully there will always be rules.
Mike, on September 7th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I believe it is two reasons why the current [business] model of the App Sotre. One, the market reason, which is very much obvious. The second reason would be the security reason.
I think they do it that way (app approval process) to keep real worms (software or otherwise) out of the device (especially iPhone)/phone network. If you look at it, they have already approved crapware in the App Store and you can find a pretty good amount of it.
They are not so much worried about the bonehead developer that created that crapware, as they are of the very good or brilliant developer(s) that can get in their gems with malicious intentions. I even think they get to look into the code of applications submitted for approval so that the “environment” is kept clean.
I don’t think they will open iPhone software development to all comers and not look into that software. If they do, they will have invited the worms in the party.
Julio, on September 7th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
What a wonderful way of opening the iPhone to malware.
Ken Collins, on September 8th, 2009 at 9:51 am