Apple, which keeps a tight lid on its products and inner workings, is loosening up a little.
The company said on Thursday that it would relax its rules on how software developers can build applications for its iPhone and iPad. For the first time, it also published detailed guidelines explaining how it decides what programs can and cannot be sold through its App Store.
Apple has long faced criticism from developers who say its application review process is opaque and that it makes seemingly arbitrary decisions about what is acceptable for its customers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
This year, some were incensed when the company purged some sexually suggestive applications it deemed to be inappropriate — like a jigsaw puzzle featuring scantily dressed women — while a Sports Illustrated application with bikini-clad models remained.
Analysts said the moves were a sign that Apple was growing increasingly aware of competition in the smartphone market and was trying to be friendlier to the developers whose applications have helped drive the success of its products.
In particular, Android, the mobile operating system by Google, has steadily increased market share in the US and abroad. Shipments of smartphones using Android grew 886 percent during the second quarter from a year earlier, research firm Canalys said. A wave of Android tablet computers that will compete with the iPad is also on the way.
In the newly released guidelines, written in an unusually conversational style, Apple acknowledges that its App Store policies could give the impression that the company is made up of “control freaks,” but adds that “maybe it’s because we’re so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products.”
Although the guidelines list many things that will lead to an app’s rejection, like the inclusion of pornography or violent images, or mimicking features that are already on the iPhone, they still leave much to interpretation. For example, Apple says that “apps that are not very useful or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected.”
Even so, software developers, many of whom have expressed frustration about the app review process, said the company’s newfound candor came as a relief.
“This is gold. This is great,” said Dom Sagolla, chief executive of Dollar App, a mobile development company based in the Bay Area. “It feels like we’re finally getting a clue about what Apple wants.”
“This is a document I’ve been wanting to see for two years,” said Raven Zachary, president of Small Society, a software development firm. “It’s going to foster the creation of better apps because we know going in what to do and what to avoid.”
Apple also said it would begin to allow developers to use third-party tools to create applications for its iOS mobile operating system, which is used on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It had banned such tools in April.
The change means developers can more easily convert applications written for other types of mobile phones, including those that use Adobe’s Flash technology, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs has repeatedly said he will not support.
The news bumped shares of Adobe up more than 12 percent to close at US$32.86. Apple shares were little changed.
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