Recently, Apple made a few significant announcements regarding apps and the App Store.

http://developer.apple.com/appstore/guidelines.html

1. Developers can now use development tools other than Apple’s
2. Apple released the guidelines by which they review apps

These are significant because up to this point, developers had to use Apple’s development environment to create iOS apps. For developers, this meant that they had to have a Mac and could not necessarily use their preferred development tool. And, once the developer had created an app and submitted it to Apple for approval, it was often difficult to know whether the app would be approved. And Apple usually didn’t give thorough explanations of why an app was rejected. This required extra time spent in trial and error to get certain apps approved.

Despite these policies, the App store has thrived and even made a few millionaires out of those developers who played by Apple’s rules.

Why the change? Apple hasn’t given a reason publicly. I believe they were concerned that the secretive policies that lie behind Apple’s walled garden would keep some would-be developers at bay. I’m sure Android’s rapid increase in market share was a huge driver as well.

Whatever the reasons, Apple’s change of heart and new level of transparency has struck a chord with developers. Expect to see an increase in App store submissions. However, also expect Apple to keep a tight fist around quality control. Despite the development platform options and review transparency, Apple makes it very clear that they ultimately decide what makes it into their app store.