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Steve Jobs was clearly opposed to Native Apps appearing on the iPhone. He did not want the device to be destabilized by external developers, so he directed the

Steve Jobs was clearly opposed to Native Apps appearing on the iPhone. He did not want the device to be destabilized by external developers, so he directed them to write web apps. Every commentator I've ever listened to (Siracusa, Gruber, Arment) all back this up, and comment on it being on of Apple/Jobs major lack of foresight - that the App Store would turn out to be such a big deal. Much of Apple's success occurred despite themselves - iTunes on Windows, App Store are just two of them. I don't think having an OS level dev kit was ever part of the plan - I don't think there's any evidence out there to suggest that it was.

jjoonathan 13y ago
When Steve Jobs announced that the devkit would be JS only, he was booed on stage. This was WWDC, the self-selected apple fans were hyped (a real internet browser on a phone!), the reality distortion field was in full effect, and when he made the "JS is the API" announcement the room went silent, save for a few brave souls more actively voicing their displeasure. It might not have been part of the plan before the iphone was launched, but it certainly became part of the plan on day 0.