Apple dismounts from high horse, approves 3rd Party Browsers

Whoa! Has Apple just changed its mind on one of the lamest policies plaguing its App Store?

In the weeks after the App Store submission process went live, a number of developers got a big smack in the face from Cupertino. After spending hundreds of hours developing their wares, they were turned away for offering features too similar to Apple’s own offerings, or “duplicate functionality”. The outcry was instantaneous and deafening; it’s one thing to have pride in your work, but to essentially ban competition is ridiculous.

Over the past 24 hours, it appears that a shift in this policy may have occurred. With Apple offering their own Mobile Safari browser on the iPhone, most expected that alternative browsers would never see the light of day. At the time of writing, at least 4 such browsers have suddenly been given the greenlight.

Ranging from free to $1.99, the now-approved browsers are: Edge Browser (Free), Incognito ($1.99), Webmate ($0.99), and Shaking Web ($1.99).

Is this an indication of an App-Store-wide policy change? We certainly hope so. Competition is good for everyone. Speaking of competition: Hey Skyfire and Mobile Firefox, the race is on.

[Via MacRumors]