Apple Inc. has taken a lot of flak lately for what some see as a rule-with-an-iron-fist approach to managing its App Store. But on Wednesday it dropped the so-called “secrecy pledge” from its developer agreement, and soon could win some points with end users if it approves a Flash player that Adobe Software is developing for the iPhone.
Apple has made developers downloading the iPhone software developer kit sign a non-disclosure agreement, which programmers have decried as preventing them from collaborating as an ecosystem. That NDA requirement has now been removed.
Meanwhile, a lack of support for Flash and Java in the iPhone’s Web browser has been seen as a glaring oversight for a device that claims to give access to the “true Internet,” considering a large percentage of Web sites use them, including YouTube. In fact, a few weeks ago Apple had to pull some ads in the U.K. that used the “True Internet” phrase, with regulators there claiming false advertising.
Adobe noted that Apple’s “closed system” approach — it reviews and approves every application for the App Store — means that there’s no guarantee the Flash player will become available. But presumably the computing giant will act to correct a maligned oversight.
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