Apple has made an unprecedented move and announced it is relaxing the rules for applications on the App Store.
In a statement, the computing giant announced that it is "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."
Apple has always been a tad cloudy on what it will or won't allow on the App Store, so this is a move that will please developers looking to get their applications on to the iPhone.
It also means that third-party developer tools for iOS apps will be allowed - which is a huge turnaround for Apple.
Listened to devs
"We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart," Apple explained in its statement.
"Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program licence."
It continued: "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's no word on when the review guidelines will be published, but this is an important step for Apple and shows the company is listening to the myriad devs who have contributed to the App Store – which currently houses over 250,000 apps.
Your comments (6) Click to add a new comment
onerichie
September 10th 2010
6. @bradavon: Yes Android phones outsell iPhones, but Apple's iOS and it's apps don't run just on iPhone; you also have to factor in iPads and iPod Touch. Combined, there's more iOS devices sold than Android devices.
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bradavon
September 9th 2010
5. @ Onerichie: Android outsells iPhone. So yes I'd say they've taken notice.
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simonset
September 9th 2010
4. So does this mean the we will finally get Flash video on iOS?
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onerichie
September 9th 2010
3. @randomdog: given Apple's current market share I'd say they aren't worried. But they can clearly see that people like Android's open-ness and want to try and emulate it. Which can only be a good thing, for the consumer and Apple's market share
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randomdog
September 9th 2010
2. Not worried about Android are we?
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not_the_messiah
September 9th 2010
1. Can we read into this that there will be no need to JB in future?
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