Don't worry, iPhone hackers: Apple doesn't hate you

It's really an ethical dilemma for the ages. On one hand, you love your shiny new Apple toy so much, you just have to hack in new functionality, on the other hand you can't bear to think that the mighty Steve Jobs thinks ill of you and your hacker ways. Well now you can finally put those fears to rest, because Apple's Greg Joswiak has officially confirmed a "neutral" stance on the iPhone hacking issue. That is to say, Apple doesn't plan to maliciously attempt to break native, third-party applications in forthcoming firmware updates, but at the same time Apple won't go out of its way to ensure those updates don't break third-party applications accidentally, and certainly isn't offering support to the hackers of any kind. We'd say it's a step above "frenemy," but not quite to the point where Steve'll be demoing Jailbreak at his next keynote.

[Wonderkid @ Sep 11th 2007 2:43PM]

Ya know (i)peeps, what gives ANY manufacturer any right to control what one does with ones purchase - as long as what one does does not a) Cause harm to another person, as defined by the law b) Effect the network the device is connected to, therefore, effecting others. So, surely people should be free to do what they want to their iPhone with the understanding that if they break the law or invalidate the warranty, they reap the consequences.

[chi @ Sep 11th 2007 2:46PM]

true, well put!

[ryantrevisol @ Sep 11th 2007 2:53PM]

And they're also free to not upgrade their firmware, too.

[HineyWipe @ Sep 11th 2007 3:03PM]

You are forgetting two things: failure of accountability and the ease of frivolous litigation.

And then there is Apple, which in the past, has made some 3rd party apps part of its OS (some rewarded and others not so rewarded...e.g. Konfabulator).

Apple, (St)inc. [hey, I love AAPL]

[Lattyware @ Sep 11th 2007 3:12PM]

They are free to do so. The companies are free to try to stop you. Don't like it, don't buy it.

Good rant about nothing.

[Jon @ Sep 11th 2007 3:16PM]

Agreed!! What's to stop me from throwing my iPhone in someones face! They can't design against that now can they!
Seriously, whatever I do with MY iPhone is my business and no one else's. I like that apple is keeping their hands out of it.
More manufacturers should follow suit.

[mike @ Sep 11th 2007 6:32PM]

@Jon

"More manufacturers should follow suit."

MANUFACTURERS DO DO THAT. For the price of an iPhone you can get a Symbian or Windows Mobile device with more features and an open api.

Don't be dense.

[Blake @ Sep 11th 2007 4:01PM]

@Mike:

I agree.. I love windows mobile and its flexibility, and generally do not like Apple products.. Yet this phone is a very good deal @ $299 so I got one. Most windows mobile phones worth a damn are pricey.

[david @ Sep 11th 2007 4:01PM]

I have a WM6 device and yes it has more options. Its also sluggish and freezes. Just like all other M$ software. But even though I hate it, I'm not going to shell out the $$ for an iPhone.

[Justin B @ Sep 11th 2007 2:45PM]

hopefully.

[Kennyb123 @ Sep 11th 2007 2:48PM]

Seriously Engadget? You're going to re-use the word "frenemy" after so much backlash the last time you used it? There's a reason for the backlash - IT'S A REALLY ANNOYING FAKE WORD! lol

[Whatsizface @ Sep 11th 2007 3:28PM]

And then KennyB goes ahead and uses 'lol'!

Remember when that was an annoying fake word?

Wait. It still is! And so is ALL CAPS!

[Alexander @ Sep 11th 2007 3:50PM]

+5 Funny

[- @ Sep 11th 2007 5:11PM]

enemiend

[JeffM @ Sep 11th 2007 7:01PM]

So I guess Coopitition is out too?

[SteveJ @ Sep 11th 2007 2:49PM]

This is good news, certainly, but I hope eventually they'll support 3rd party development officially. I.e. handle it like Mac OS X on Macs.

[Adam @ Sep 11th 2007 5:04PM]

What, you mean throw it out and hope someone does something with it? Macs are terrible to program on, and there's no audience. The iPhone, on the other hand, at least has users.

[ryantrevisol @ Sep 11th 2007 2:52PM]

I would love to see NES Emulation and other apps like this for the iPod Touch, not only because I'm a tightwad, but because I think the thinner, phone-less concept combined with the obvious processing power provided to allow safari and wifi lends itself more to pda-cum-psp territory than it does touchy-feely-ipod.

[mark @ Sep 11th 2007 2:57PM]

Whoa, they got nintendo running on it! Nice!

[Boynamedsue @ Sep 11th 2007 2:57PM]

This is a perfectly reasonable stance.

hack all you want, we won't go out of our way to break it, if it does happen it wasn't on purpose.

[Pans @ Sep 11th 2007 3:03PM]

Isn't that Chocolate Rain II that's being played?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caIBKOztlAo

[Ian @ Sep 11th 2007 3:27PM]

nahh dude thats mega man 2, the only reason i know that is cuz i just busted out my nintendo last week and beat it!! word

[Dave @ Sep 11th 2007 3:05PM]

Call me ignorant, but when he says third party apps, how does/does that affect the unlocking for the iPhone? Does that mean Apple isn't actively going to try to stop people from unlocking it?

[bazooka @ Sep 11th 2007 3:17PM]

i wonder too.

i'm thinking maybe it is there way of saying go ahead unlock it. without saying "go ahead unlock the iPhone". apple's relationship with at&t is a reluctant one. apple is a hardware manufacturer so it's safe to assume they want to sell hardware (iPhones) regardless of what network that hardware is connecting to. but they still have to honor their agreement with at&t so they have to take a neutral stance.
just speculating.

[Boynamedsue @ Sep 11th 2007 3:36PM]

this isn't about unlocking.

[mitchell @ Sep 11th 2007 3:06PM]

Great! So they won't mind when I hack my iPod touch to have the iPhone's Mail application and a proper Calendar.

Thank you Apple!

[Simon @ Sep 11th 2007 3:35PM]

bear in mind that they talk about the iPhone, not the iPod Touch...Don't do anything stupid!

[Tim @ Sep 11th 2007 3:19PM]

You don't think Apple is enjoying this? They're doing with the iPhone what they did with the AppleTV, releasing it missing critical stuff and letting the "community" come up with various "fixes" or workarounds.

Why spend all that money on R&D when you just release a beautiful new product into the wild, but you just don't release it with every last feature everyone on the planet wants, that way hackers have something to do and techie end-users can add on what they want. On top of that, Apple gets to sell iPhones outside of its deal with AT&T. It's win-win all around and if you don't think Stevie Boy hasn't planned this from the beginning then you just haven't been paying attention to Apple over the last few years.

[MacGuru @ Sep 11th 2007 4:19PM]

Maybe he copied Microsoft's way of doing things. Release a vulnerable OS and let companies like Symantec, Norton etc do the dirty work of removing all the viruses and spyware...

[freakscene @ Sep 11th 2007 6:19PM]

Except in the case of the AppleTV, Apple has activately shut down various means of hacking the product (which makes no sense to me). Fortunately they seem to be taking a different stance here, possibly because taking a neutral stance against hackers keeps some leverage with AT&T. Or possibly, they plan to roll out an SDK next year for official 3rd-party native apps, and they just aren't quite ready yet.

[Ellianth @ Sep 11th 2007 3:23PM]

How to put into words all my thoughts? ... hmm... you're not fooling me!

[Matt @ Sep 11th 2007 3:32PM]

@ mike above.

You do realize you said DO DO, right?

*chuckles*

[Nick @ Sep 11th 2007 3:52PM]

There's this link just over to the right and below this text, it says "Reply", you should check it out sometime.

[Tom @ Sep 11th 2007 4:04PM]

I can't wait until the next iphone update to see if these hacks survive. If so, then i will hack away!

[crescentdavid @ Sep 11th 2007 4:05PM]

It's PR, pure and simple. It costs apple nothing to mouth these statements as it comes out with update after update of anti-ringtones iTunes. Right-O, Stevie. Along with any other spurious updates meant to re-lockdown their products. Don't get me wrong-I'm not against Apple Corporation doing everything in its power to maximize profits-it's what corporations do. This little spin is fluff for the fan base, nothing more.

[Gabe McGuinness @ Sep 11th 2007 5:26PM]

While I agree in principle to the obvious PR parry and thrust, the position seems no less remarkable. Conventional wisdom (vis-a-vis M$) stipulates that the platform be protected at all costs, lest the consumer find a way to use the hardware in a manner that prevents, or impedes later official platform expansion. I'm thinking along the lines of Xbox/Xbox 360, and the ever constant to and fro of software updates and hacks. While Microsoft's approach has always seemed a bit ham fisted, if understandable; If apple is genuine in it's remarks has shifted that paradigm in a way that seems much more respectful of the end user, and their significant hardware investment.

I applaud any company that puts the consumer's interest ahead of those of its corporate partners. By simply taking a step back, and saying, "not our problem" they foster innovation while maintaining good will toward both corporate parters and the community at large.

Way to go!

[diceburna @ Sep 11th 2007 8:01PM]

Same here, I applaud Apple as well :-D this is definitely a step in the right direction. TBH all of these companies need to stop dreaming in the analog state of mind and wake up!!! We have been in the digital age for how many years now??? They all knew what the advantages were when we all started going digital. If they thought that those advantages would only apply to business interests only then its not the consumers fault that they weren't thinking clearly. If they wanted their content, hardware, etc protected and hard to distribute then they should of never went digital.

[Guyver03 @ Sep 12th 2007 10:38AM]

It makes nothing but sense for them to allow this. The difference here being that Apple makes money on each and every phone that it sells. Home and portable game console makers are a different story because the companies are taking a loss on each system sale and count on the software purchases to make up for that, as well as generate a profit. So, Steve can do it because he gets his money up front. The console manufacturers have to make it up on back-end software sales. Which, let's face it, is the #1 reason people hack up game consoles...so they can play copies.

You can applaud Steve and Apple all you want, but if there was some sort of software they were selling for it that could be installed free by hacking your iPhone, you can bet Apple and Co. would be all over the updates trying to break the newest hacks just like Sony, MS and Nintendo do.

It's just convenient for Apple to be hacker friendly "this" time.

[rento @ Sep 11th 2007 4:33PM]

Cant blame them, why bother to do all that work when you got hackers that do it for you. And free!!!

iPhone-CRAP Hackers-FTW

[Will @ Sep 11th 2007 5:15PM]

@David

Writing a $ instead of a S does not make you look clever. It makes you look like an immature fanboy who is incapable of carrying out a reasonable discussion without slinging insults at people who disagree with you.

[Stephen Tordoff @ Sep 12th 2007 2:14AM]

There is reply system here. Just so you know...

[Oskin @ Sep 11th 2007 5:19PM]

It's nice to know but don't think for a second they will hesitate to stop a hack if they losses money because of it... It's pure business! Gotta love apple though ;) for saying it out loud

[miguel pardo @ Sep 11th 2007 5:31PM]

great great great great excellent excellent . I think you do better job than itwire....

[len @ Sep 11th 2007 5:37PM]

Anyone taking bets on how long it takes them to react when someone makes an easy point and click application for creating and installing ringtones?

The only reason they'll letting people get away with it now is because they don't want to tarnish their image as the hugs and flowers consumer-oriented computer company. They want someone else to be the bad cop.

But when AT&T says jump, they're gonna jump.

[ark_v2 @ Sep 11th 2007 5:55PM]

Don't worry, I don't think they care at all :)

[MastrGuitar @ Sep 11th 2007 5:59PM]

Don't worry, Apple doesn't hate you. :) But old man Jobs just might "accidentally" release a virus in one of the updates that wipes out your hacked iPhone. I can see him now... "Man, you really screwed that one up, what'd you do, hack it?" But at least Apple doesn't hate you.

______________________________________________________

To quote a great song:
"Hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like you.

[Corey @ Sep 12th 2007 2:27AM]

similar to how microsoft banned all hacked xbox's from live?