Third-party apps have started to become the best-in-class in iOS. This is good for third-party developers, users, and in the short-term, Apple. It gives third-parties, like Google, additional exposure and revenue. It provides better apps for users on iOS devices. And it helps sell more iOS devices for Apple. In the long-term, however, it may not work out so well for Apple. Many people fail to see the problem with high quality third-party apps. These people are partially correct – the apps aren’t the problem. Instead, Apple’s policy towards third-party apps and lack of innovation in its own apps create the problems. First, Apple won’t allow you set third-party apps as default in iOS. When it comes down to it, iOS devices are just computers. Imagine not being able to set a default third-party mail app or browser in OS X. That would never be acceptable, and it shouldn’t be acceptable in iOS.
