Opinion

Will Apple Kill App Store Apps by Stealing Their Ideas?

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Steve Jobs famously said that great artists steal, and the company has often taken that mantra to the extreme over the years. Some would say that much of Apple's current software bears more than a passing resemblance to some of its competitors' products.

Take iOS 5's Notification Center, for example. You'd need to be blind to say that it does not look eerily similar to the same notification system that Android has packed since day one. Some would argue that there are only so many ways you can handle something like a pull-down notification window. Some would call it stealing.

Apple has even taken some cues from its own App Store. Mobile Safari now sports a "Reading List" feature that offers a similar service to that of Instapaper, the famous web app that also has a popular iOS app in the App Store. Instapaper's developer, Marco Arment, doesn't seem too concerned, but others were not so happy...

What Twitter Got Right and Wrong With Its New iPhone App

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

Twitter is the social network of choice for many an iPhone user, and it is particularly near and dear to our hearts here at iDownloadBlog. The popularity Twitter has in the world of iOS is perhaps the main reason that the latest update to the company's app has been so controversial.

Some users of the official Twitter app for the iPhone and iPod touch (the iPad app has not been redesigned just yet) clearly appreciate the changes that Twitter has made to the interface, while others hate it so much that they have sought out other, 3rd-party apps.

Three weeks after Twitter made these big changes to its flagship iOS app, how is one of iDB's biggest Twitter users, namely moi, finding life with the much-changed, much-maligned Twitter 4.0? That's a very, very good question...

ICS Paper Cuts, Critiquing Android, and Attacks on Fanboyism

Alex Heath ∙ Updated October 16, 2017

Most jailbreakers will recognize the hacker known as chpwn. Grant Paul is responsible for many of the most popular iOS jailbreak tweaks in Cydia, including Infinidock and Gridlock. He also helps manage sites like JailbreakQA and works on jailbreaks with the Dev Team.

Grant has started a new blog called "ICS Paper Cuts." His site is dedicated to critiquing the Android platform, particularly the recent 4.0 version, Ice Cream Sandwich. Needless to say, he's been dealing with plenty of hate for his critiques of the operating system's design and usability.

A Brief History of the iOS App Store and the Rise of the Mobile App

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

One of the biggest things to come out of the smartphone revolution is the rise of the mobile app. Before Apple, Google and the rest all set about creating their own on-device app stores. Users were left to live a life of boring apps that needed installing via a memory stick or, in the case of some smartphone operating systems, the downloading of executables that needed to be installed manually after fighting through a selection of security issues. Windows Mobile, I'm looking at you.

Apple, along with Research in Motion, began to change all that with a little help from Google. Nokia also got in on the act, before Microsoft finally began to get things right with Windows Phone 7. Apps, as we have all learned over the last few years, sell smartphones. Now, they also sell tablets.

This is all a far cry from Apple's early stance on an 'app store' when it released the iPhone along with its little brother, the original iPod touch...

Why Piracy Hurts the Jailbreak Community

Alex Heath ∙ December 2, 2011

A recent post by jailbreak developer Filippo Bigarella really hit me. Filippo is a relatively well-known developer in the jailbreak community, and his most recent app, Springtomize 2, has been making huge splashes since its public release yesterday.

We have a great relationship with Filippo at iDB, and I consider him a friend. He's a good guy who makes incredible software. His stance on pirating Springtomize says a lot about how piracy hurts the jailbreak community.

War for Market Share vs. War for Profits

Sébastien Page ∙ December 1, 2011

Business Insider's Dan Frommer published an interesting article this morning titled "Why the iPhone's market share war with Android actually matters." In his piece, Frommer is spot on when he explains that gaining market share is important because this is what will build the dominant mobile platform for the next decade.

Historically, Apple never cared much about market share. Sure, it's happy when it's gaining slices of a market, but Apple is all about profitability and brand value. When Google makes $10/year from each Android user, Apple makes about $300 per iPhone sold. At this rate, it's not surprising that even though Apple may have a small share of the smartphone market, it's still owning about 50% of the entire industry's profits...

I’m Waiting For the “Next Big Thing” From the Jailbreak Community

Alex Heath ∙ November 26, 2011

Do I really need to jailbreak anymore? I've been thinking about that question since I got my iPhone 4S about two months ago. I know this sounds sacrilegious on iDB, but think about it: do we really need an untethered iOS 5 jailbreak?

After taking a step back from the jailbreak scene for awhile, I've realized that I don't have a desire to jailbreak anymore. Why? I think that I'm waiting for the "next big thing."

Does Apple Need a Low-End Tablet?

Cody Lee ∙ November 15, 2011

For years we've talked about the possibility of a lower cost "iPhone Nano" to compliment Apple's flagship handset. It was argued that the cheaper device would help the Cupertino company address the low-end market, and make inroads with prepaid customers.

Although the rumored Nano wasn't announced at Apple's iPhone event last month, Tim Cook's team did introduce two low-cost handsets: the $99 8GB iPhone 4, and the free iPhone 3GS. The company now covers nearly every smartphone price point possible...

Do Device Specs Really Matter Anymore?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

There has been one constant among the onslaught of Kindle Fire reviews we've seen over the last few days (it launches today): iPad comparisons. Amazon's new slate has been, and continues to be, constantly compared to Apple's iPad.

As typical with head-to-head match-ups, reviewers have broken out the spec sheets to see how each device measures up. But do specs even really matter anymore? Several tech writers have been asking this lately, and they've been making some valid points...

Gmail’s New iOS App is a Disgrace

Alex Heath ∙ November 2, 2011

Google recently released—and immediately pulled—its official app for the iPhone and iPad in the App Store. After a long time coming, Google finally got on the ball and released an App Store app for its popular email service, but not before realizing that there were several bugs that needed fixing.

While many called Gmail's app "fantastic" and "wonderful" at first glance, more than 5 minutes with the app will show you what an utter disgrace this app is for Google...

Was Google’s Gamble on Android Really Worth It?

Cody Lee ∙ November 1, 2011

When the original iPhone launched in 2007, Google and Apple actually had a good relationship. Google was set to be the iPhone's default search engine, and Google was also going to power the handset's Maps application. Everything was wonderful. And then came Android.

The Android operating system was born in Palo Alto, California in 2003. Two years later, the company was acquired by—you guessed it—Google. The deal was worth an estimated $50 million, but the Android OS could end up costing Google much more than that...

Apps Aren’t the New Channels

Sébastien Page ∙ October 28, 2011

Since we first heard that Steve Jobs had 'cracked' the code for an integrated Apple TV set, rumors have been going crazy about what Apple has planned.

News came out this week that Jeff Robin, the guy who helped develop the iPod and iTunes, is currently leading Apple's secret TV project – let's just call this Apple TV set the "iTV." Our imaginations then started running wild at the prospect of a TV that could be controlled using Siri, or maybe even 3D gestures.

While there is no doubt Siri would be part of an iTV, one big question remains: how will the content get there?