Apple Inc. (AAPL): Will It Let Sunshine Into iOS?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been notorious throughout its entire existence about having very tight control of its ecosystem, right now to the details of the operating system on which everything runs. The company has never been open to allowing outside forces have control over any part of the development process – essentially inferring that no one can be trusted who is outside of the Apple circle. When it comes to its operating systems, Apple has always seemed to have an “our-way-or-the-highway” approach with developers.

That has been the primary reason why  developers have had to create separate apps for iOS and for Android – the “closed source” concept by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has always been intended to keep malware out and to ensure better quality control on iOS, because Apple runs its own parameters. But in a recent interview at a conference, CEO Tim Cook seemed to give the impression that Apple’s very closed ecosystem just might have  an opening, and that the company just might consider giving more control of iOS over to developers. At least that seems to be what is taken out of his comments.

Many people know that Cook is quite adept at saying something without really saying anything. His use of nuance  when asked a direct question is what keeps the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rumor mills operating on a constant basis. Many people want to believe that he said something, but then they are left parsing Cook’s words to speculate what he really said.

In the interview, Cook seemed to indicate  one of his more clear statements about mobile APIs and potentially opening more channels for developers when he said, “The customer pays us to make choices [concerning developer control over iOS] on their behalf. But you’ll see us open up more.”

This is seeming to indicate that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), after more than 30 years of its rigid, closed ecosystem keeping out the bad guys, that the company may finally be more trusting of developers. This could very well be a reference to Jony Ive and the work he is doing with iOS 7, which seems to be pretty interesting in and of itself. Why might we say that?

The fact that Tim Cook would be willing to let Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) open itself up to more developer control on iOS could have a couple of facets to it. First, the timing is interesting because for most of the last 30 years, Apple had been impervious to hacks, worms and malware. In the last couple of years, however, there have been some break-ins into the Mac OS and some spotty breaches in iOS, so it would seem counterintuitive to open up a closed iOS to the possibility of more problems.

But this could also be an opportunity for cybersecurity developers who have strong track records with Windows, Linux and Android OSs, to provide security opportunities for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) that might not have existed. We will have to wait and see what happens as iOS 7 rolls out in the coming months. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: None