The context of this story

Year: 2010
People: Steve Jobs
Products: iPhone, iPad

Section 3.3.1 Updated

On March 8, 2010, Steve Jobs presented the new version 4.0 of the iPhone operating system to journalists. This is only a preview; the new version will not be available to customers until the summer. The aim is to let people know what new features are coming and what direction development is taking. It is also a response to the launch of the iPad tablets, which are selling very well and are generally expected to repeat the success of the iPhone.

How useful will the iPad be for browsing the web without Flash, Adobe and critics asked in advance? Flash is not supported, Apple replied, and on March 8, Steve Jobs showed that he still does not count on Adobe. Even the new version of iPhone OS 4 will not support Flash. And only later did the consequences of a minor change in the conditions for approving software for the App Store become apparent.

The change in section 3.3.1 excludes from approval applications that are launched on the iPhone using some kind of intermediate layer rather than directly via the Cocoa Touch API. This excluded applications created using AIR (but also those created in .NET via MonoTouch) and others. Apple has cut off one of the selling points of Adobe CS5, which was scheduled to be released four days later. Apple has made it clear that applications created with AIR and other cross-platform toolkits will not be approved in the App Store. If Flash application developers were counting on compiling their applications in the new CS5 and releasing them in the App Store, they are now out of luck.

The new version of the provision reads:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).

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