Apple's New Guidelines Won't Stop Wired Magazine iPad App, Conde Nast Says
Navigating New Restrictions En Route to the App Store — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Conde Nast 's Wired magazine app will indeed work on the iPad despite the restrictive new guidelines Apple issued this month, Conde Nast said Thursday evening.
Context & Ripple Effects
Condé Nast has been moving fast on tablet publishing since it began preparing iPad versions of some of its top magazines in early March, with Wired positioned as the flagship test case. The wrinkle this month is Apple itself: alongside the iPhone 4.0 preview and the iAd announcement, Apple issued new restrictive developer guidelines for the App Store, leaving publishers unsure whether their planned apps would clear review.
Condé Nast's Thursday statement that the Wired app will work under the new rules is the first public signal that a major magazine publisher believes it can ship a rich iPad edition within Apple's constraints — a read-through every other title in its portfolio, and rivals like Hearst, were waiting on.
First-order effects
- Wired's iPad edition can proceed on schedule, validating the months of preparation Condé Nast put into its tablet lineup rather than forcing a redesign around Apple's new restrictions.
- Apple keeps final gatekeeping power over the app: approval still runs through Cupertino, so the guidelines remain a live risk for each subsequent Condé Nast title submitted.
Second-order effects
- Rival publishers watching Wired get through now have a template for what Apple will accept, but they inherit the same dependency — pricing, features, and any future subscription mechanics all sit inside Apple's rule-making.
- Advertisers evaluating tablet editions gain confidence in iPad distribution at exactly the moment Apple's iAd launch makes mobile advertising a more prominent part of the pitch.
Third-order effects
- If Apple continues issuing unilateral platform guidelines, magazine economics on tablets consolidate around whatever terms Apple sets — pushing publishers toward eventual experiments with distribution channels outside the App Store.
- The episode marks an early instance of the recurring conflict between content owners and platform owners over who controls customer relationships and revenue on closed devices.
The trend: Digital magazine publishing on tablets is forming inside Apple's App Store rules, with platform gatekeeping emerging as the central constraint publishers must design around.