Issue 518  July 30th 2021

Last week, my final link used iDOS 2 to install Windows 3.1 on your iPad. I’m sure it wasn’t my link that focused Apple’s attention on the app. Many blogs and podcasts discussed it. Unfortunately, Apple has now told the developer to make fundamental changes within 14 days, or they’ll remove it from the App Store.

I’ve also had this article from the Panic blog in my saved links for a while. It’s the story of why their editor, Nova, won’t come to iPad as they initially said it would. Predictably, it’s also due to the same App Store rules.

The new iPad Pro is an incredible device. It has the M1 chip, an XDR screen, keyboard, trackpad, touch, and pen input, and it’s all wrapped up in what I think is the most beautiful industrial design coming out of Apple today.

My iPad is more than four years old now, and even though it still works well, it’s getting to the age where I would typically think about replacing it. But while I’ve added the new iPad Pro to my shopping basket several times, I haven’t checked out, and I don’t think I will.

The iPad can do many great things, but there’s no doubt that the App Store rules hold it back from fulfilling its potential. That said, I can’t see Apple wanting to give an inch on rules that would weaken the platform’s security. They’ve fought hard to create trust in iOS, and the tight restrictions on what developers can do partially protect the platform’s security.

You could make a convincing argument that allowing a different web rendering engine, JavaScript parser, or allowing emulation wouldn’t affect security much. But I don’t think you could say it wouldn’t affect it at all.

The complexity comes when the same restrictions also benefit Apple in so many other ways than security, and that’s at the heart of so many of their current legal issues.

I’d love to see a more capable iPadOS. I want to see a full-featured iPad version of Nova, and running Windows 3.1 on an iPad for a few minutes is harmless fun. But I also highly value the trust that the protected environment has helped create. Changing these rules for everyone’s benefit is a challenging decision that I’m glad no one is asking me to make.

I still think that despite all their bias, Apple is in the best position to make changes to these rules. I just can’t see them doing that voluntarily. There’s too much at stake. Because of that, it might be a judge who gets to make that final decision, which scares me a little.

I’ve written on this topic a few times recently but never quite managed to get my thoughts down as clearly as it feels like I have this time. I hope you’ll forgive the repetition!

Dave Verwer