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Jobs softens stance on Flash for iPhone apps

By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 9 Sep 2010 at 14:21

Apple has changed its mind on letting apps created using third-party development tools into the App Store.

In April, Apple changed the terms of its App Store, banning applications made with third-party development tools. That meant developers couldn't create their apps in Adobe's Flash, for example, and recompile them for the Apple platform.

Jon Honeyball says

This change has been coming for a while. I suspect Apple clamped down on the Adobe toolset to give it time to work out what it did want to allow. And now Apple's ready to go forward.

Remember that if Apple gets this wrong, it opens up the platform to malware and patchy code. Apple is painfully aware that it doesn't want iOS to turn into a cesspit like Windows is now. And if it gets it wrong, you can't put the genie back in the bottle.

Apple is taking a 20-year view here. Look at Windows today compared to the nice happy days of Windows 3.0. Nobody wants to make the same mistake again.

At the time, Steve Jobs said Apple should not be at the "mercy" of third-party platforms for app development. "We know from painful experience that letting a third-party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform," he wrote in an open letter.

The company seems to have changed its tune today, allowing developers to use the tools of their choice. "We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart," Apple said.

Apple said it will "relax some restrictions" put into place earlier this year around development tools - but that doesn't mean Flash will be able to run on Apple's iPhone, iPad or iPod.

"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," the company explained. "This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need."

Because apps won't be able to download code, Flash still won't run, but developers will be able to code in whichever platform they choose before recompiling their app to run on iOS.

Apple will also, for the first time, publish guidelines for how it approves apps, shedding light on why some apps are allowed in while others are refused.

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User comments

TimoGunt says
Steve Jobs made a mistake

By TimoGunt on 9 Sep 2010

He's probably made a few, but annoying developers by not allowing them to choose how they develop their apps is quite a big one. Almost up there with saying there was no signal problem with the new iphone.

By Shuflie on 9 Sep 2010

Anti-trust

What I find appalling about all this is after years of anti-trust suits on both sides of the Atlantic a company can still get away with this kind of thing. Of course Apple should try and keep a monopoly, just as microsoft have - just wish the europeans, the US and the WTO would work out a framework for stopping this kind of thing. Otherwise we stay at the current situation - if any action is taken it's tantamount to shutting the gate after the horse has bolted - the damage has been done and fines and actions only serve as minor penalties to the cost of doing business.

By simontompkins on 10 Sep 2010