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Apps were just an excuse for Jobs to own the iPhone platform. It's why they killed Flash - they didn't want a cross-platform way to develop apps and marginalize

Apps were just an excuse for Jobs to own the iPhone platform. It's why they killed Flash - they didn't want a cross-platform way to develop apps and marginalize their plans. This is nonsense as initially Apple was pushing web apps, it actually took a lot of convincing to get them to move to native code. Flash never provided a good user experience.

wayneftw 6y ago
If you believe that Apple ever really intended web apps to be the only apps, I've got a bridge to sell you. The only reason they released a year earlier than their native app SDK was to get their product out in front of competition that they knew was coming so they could claim they were "first".
- unclekev 6y ago
  > product out in front of competition that they knew was coming so they could claim they were "first" Who was coming? What competition? They weren't in a race with anyone to release the iPhone. Nobody was even close to what they had with iPhone at the time.
  - BlueTemplar 6y ago
    You don't think that completely dismissing the other smartphone makers would have been foolish?
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - wayneftw 6y ago
    Do you really think Android popped up a year later after the release of the iPhone and nobody knew about its development? Android didn't start at Google. Google bought them in 2005, three years before the iPhone was released.
    - sjwright 6y ago
      Android was on track to be a Blackberry clone with no touch screen until they got wind of what Apple was up to.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 6y ago
      Prototype Android looked like a BlackBerry. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/24/android-was-born-on-this-weird-old-prototype-phone-but-youd-never-recognize-it/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/24/android-was-born-on...
      - wayneftw 6y ago
        Those were early prototypes. Google didn't make it into a touch interface in a single year. The exact UI doesn't matter anyway. Apple knew they had something and they knew Google had resources to compete. Don't forget that these companies compete over hiring talent as well. Apple never, ever planned on only web apps and there's no evidence of that.
- danmg 6y ago
  They told people just to make html5 webpages for the first year or so of the iPhone. The first third party native apps were people who managed to get the gcc toolchain to emit a binary that the iPhone could run. Then the App Store came out a few months later. Native apps caught on very well over just making html5 sites for iPhone users, because, in a lot of cities, AT&T's network just couldn't support all the users' very well. Even then, you were limited to a max of something like 20 (?).

wayneftw 6y ago

If you believe that Apple ever really intended web apps to be the only apps, I've got a bridge to sell you. The only reason they released a year earlier than their native app SDK was to get their product out in front of competition that they knew was coming so they could claim they were "first".

unclekev 6y ago
> product out in front of competition that they knew was coming so they could claim they were "first" Who was coming? What competition? They weren't in a race with anyone to release the iPhone. Nobody was even close to what they had with iPhone at the time.
- BlueTemplar 6y ago
  You don't think that completely dismissing the other smartphone makers would have been foolish?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- wayneftw 6y ago
  Do you really think Android popped up a year later after the release of the iPhone and nobody knew about its development? Android didn't start at Google. Google bought them in 2005, three years before the iPhone was released.
  - sjwright 6y ago
    Android was on track to be a Blackberry clone with no touch screen until they got wind of what Apple was up to.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 6y ago
    Prototype Android looked like a BlackBerry. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/24/android-was-born-on-this-weird-old-prototype-phone-but-youd-never-recognize-it/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/05/24/android-was-born-on...
    - wayneftw 6y ago
      Those were early prototypes. Google didn't make it into a touch interface in a single year. The exact UI doesn't matter anyway. Apple knew they had something and they knew Google had resources to compete. Don't forget that these companies compete over hiring talent as well. Apple never, ever planned on only web apps and there's no evidence of that.
danmg 6y ago
They told people just to make html5 webpages for the first year or so of the iPhone. The first third party native apps were people who managed to get the gcc toolchain to emit a binary that the iPhone could run. Then the App Store came out a few months later. Native apps caught on very well over just making html5 sites for iPhone users, because, in a lot of cities, AT&T's network just couldn't support all the users' very well. Even then, you were limited to a max of something like 20 (?).