> Apple has a monopoly on legit iOS App distribution, I know why you think that, but you're missing that there is a completely legitimate app distribution mech

> Apple has a monopoly on legit iOS App distribution, I know why you think that, but you're missing that there is a completely legitimate app distribution mechanism outside the AppStore. You can install (and distribute) whatever apps you want for iOS devices, and users can download them from the web and install them on the device. And I'm not talking about jailbreaking. Since the first day the iPhone has shipped, you've been able to download and install apps built with javascript from anywhere on the web. These are full apps, written in Javascript and running on the machine. They have access to the iOS design components such as the navigation controller and tab bar UI, etc, can read touches and orientation and even your current location. You can turn off the network- put the device in airport mode- and they still run. These aren't links to web apps running on the web, they are full apps. Apple only curates what goes on in the App Store. Apps distributed outside the App Store are not curated. Apple built this platform for apps specifically so it wouldn't have to curate them. Its just that once the App Store came out, everyone switched to writing native apps (And at the time, writing native apps are what people were clamoring for) that that native app distirbution model won out. But the javascript app platform is still there on the device and completely un-regulated by apple. It's also still supported by Apple, and each year at WWDC they have a couple sessions talking about it. I know it fits some people's ideology better to believe that Apple will only let you run apps approved by Apple on your device, but it simply isn't true. Further, if you want native apps of arbitrary origin, you can join the developer program and run whatever native apps you want. But Apple has always allowed this other distribution mechanism. These apps can't spread malware and so there is no need to regulate them. Since native apps can, they need to be curated, hence the AppStore. It is disingenuous for people to pretend like Apple only wants you to buy apps from the AppStore-- because the javascript app platform has existed since a year before the AppStore and they continue to maintain it.