Now its a funny argument to say that Apple isn’t fighting Jailbreaking. They have tried their best to get it proven illegal and then there are these software updates from time to time that at times made us wait weeks / months to get the iPhone working again. Apple even restricted its developers from supporting the hackers community in its TOS. So why does John Gruber of DaringFireball argues that Apple isn’t fighting jailbreaking? Its certain that this piece by him had to get a lot of responses and end up with criticism.
Having used an iPhone on and off since 2007, I have seen the impact of jailbreaking / unlocking. Just hours before I got on this news, I was speaking to my local dealer and exploring the possibility of switching my software unlocked 3GS to a factory unlocked version. I am convinced that my unlocked iPhone 3GS eats a lot more battery than a factory unlocked version and then the occasional signal loss / reboot is nothing new on unlocked iPhones ever since the original 2G. iPhone users around me have often expressed that unlocked / jailbreaked iPhone degrades performance in many ways. This includes Preshit of Smoking Apples who had advised me to chuck the iPhone 4 US version and try to get a factory unlocked UK version.
The dev team updated Ultrasn0w for iPhone 4 just days after its release to help improve the battery performance. Malware on the iPhone came in as a rude shock and we have been reading tips to secure jailbroken iPhones. Isn’t that a reason for concern? My trust and respect for the App Store verification process went sky high, the day when I read about this iPhone app being rejected for security concerns. My iPhone has Cydia loaded just for unlocking and no tweaks, hacks or apps are loaded on the device.
If Gruber says Apple is fighting security vulnerabilities and not jailbreaking per say, I would agree to that! They are protecting the user experience and security. If all new iPhones had come with a jailbreak, I can be sure that iPhone wouldn’t have been what it is today.
PS: For the ones talking about business interest of Apple in app sales, the last time I checked App Store isn’t that profitable for Apple yet. Its more to do with the value add to the iPhone than apps revenue that Apple cares for IMO.
By Ankur Agarwal
I was reluctant to agree with the point of view that apple isn’t fighting jailbreak at first but it’s actually really probable. I’m studying in e-commerce and most of the people in my group don’t want to jailbreak their phone. I was surprised at first because for me it’s inevitable since I’ve experienced what it can bring to the table and we are all very aware of what happens in the tech industry. I guess jailbreaking just isn’t that big of an issue.