" The iOS 64 bit toolchain is an almost completely closed-source thing, despite being derived from a free software base." It would have been this way with GCC

" The iOS 64 bit toolchain is an almost completely closed-source thing, despite being derived from a free software base." It would have been this way with GCC too. They had already written their own linker, etc. Apple didn't give a crap about releasing GCC patches, because it was not for an architecture they controlled. Much like embedded gcc developers often do, for architectures they control, they are probably just delaying the release until it no longer provides what they perceive to be a competitive advantage. They would have done this with GCC too (and did in the past!)