Well known iOS hacker pod2g went on a bit of a rant on Twitter today regarding the current state of iOS. The security expert says that he’s seeing a lot of his ‘geek friends’ migrate from iOS to Android, and he wants to see Apple open up its mobile platform to help stop the bleeding.
He points out that there are no technical issues preventing Apple from allowing developers to submit tweaks or themes — it would just need to enlarge its API/SDK. And it would be able to review them just like they do with App Store submissions before approving them for iOS…
Obviously we, like most folks, normally just write this kind of talk off as wishful thinking. But when pod2g talks, a lot of people listen.
The hacker’s words resonated enough to kickstart a Twitter petition (or a twitition) entitled “WeWantAnOpeniOS,” which creator FlawlessFox (of WWJC) says he will email to Apple once it’s collected enough signatures. And his hashtag by the same name became a trending topic at one point.
Here’s the tweet that started it all:
Hopes: the fact that there’s no jailbreak for the iPhone 5 may push Apple to open a little more their OS for tweaks and mods.
— pod2g (@pod2g) January 3, 2013
I don’t really understand the logic behind the comment, but I love the conversation it sparked. I think Apple could easily open iOS up for things like native themes, third party widgets, and other mods. Sure it would take a little more work on its end, but still, a relatively easy project.
Think about it. It could still set limitations on what these mods could and couldn’t do in the operating system. It could still use an approval squad to weed out the bad submissions. And it could still sell these things — themes, etc. — in the App Store and take its usual 30 percent cut.
No, this doesn’t mean that I think Apple is just going to up and make a major change to iOS, which drives its biggest money makers. In fact, I can think of hundreds of reasons why it will never open up the mobile platform. But I do believe that the more attention this topic gets, the better.
If you’re interested, feel free to sign the WeWantAnOpeniOS twitition. At the time of this writing, it had collected more than 2,200 signatures. And you can expect to hear more from us about this topic in the coming weeks.
What do you think, should Apple open up iOS to allow for things like themes and mods?
