My unproven theory is that they're moving away from tech savey users (who won't like this) towards soccer mums (who want this sort of thing and all the parental

My unproven theory is that they're moving away from tech savey users (who won't like this) towards soccer mums (who want this sort of thing and all the parental control stuff they've been doing recently and the weird no porn on tumblr thing etc). The second market is bigger and less discerning. Its a purely economic decision: come and bring your kids to our nice safe child-proof walled garden. There is also the parallel requirement in places like China and Russia to police what people have on their phones. This move clearly differentiates Apple from other Western tech companies and maybe protects them from bans in big and fast growing markets.