Apple Allows 3rd Party Web Browsers into App Store
Over the past 24 hours, Apple has begun to approve 3rd party web browsing applications for the iPhone. A number of new web browsing apps have suddenly appeared with original submission dates ranging as far back as October.
Context & Ripple Effects
The iPhone’s ability to browse the web had already been a visible part of its early use, including a 2007 report of an iPhone accessing MacRumors. Apple’s approvals turn web access from a Safari-only device feature into an App Store category open to outside developers.
The appearance of apps submitted as far back as October suggests the immediate change is in Apple’s review decisions, making App Store approval the decisive route for browser developers to reach iPhone users.
First-order effects
- Third-party browser developers with previously pending submissions can distribute their apps to iPhone users through the App Store.
- iPhone users gain browser choices alongside Apple’s Safari, while Apple retains the approval gate for those choices.
Second-order effects
- Safari faces direct competition within Apple’s own storefront, giving browser makers a reason to treat iPhone distribution as a viable product channel.
- App Store review policy becomes more consequential for developers of core software categories, because an approval decision can determine whether a product class reaches iPhone users.
Third-order effects
- If Apple continues admitting applications that overlap with built-in iPhone functions, the App Store becomes both a distribution market and the mechanism that defines the practical limits of platform competition.
- Browser choice on the iPhone will be shaped not only by product quality but by Apple’s willingness to approve competing applications, concentrating authority over a foundational user interface layer.
The trend: The iPhone is moving from a device centered on Apple-supplied functions toward a curated application platform where Apple controls competition through App Store approval.