Virtual Pants

In commenting on our earlier piece regarding default third-party apps in iOS, John Gruber made a good point:

No, Apple’s worst nightmare is someone buying an Android phone instead of an iPhone. If you buy an iPhone, Apple wins, that’s all there is to it.

It may not be Apple’s worst nightmare if a user replaces all of the core apps with Google apps, however, it is indicative that the user prefers Google’s apps to Apple’s and may choose Android next time. Thus, while Apple is obviously happy that the user bought their current iPhone, it’s likely that they may not buy another - which, as John notes, is Apple’s worst nightmare. John concludes:

If Apple does not want iOS users to use Chrome (to name one example), they should not have allowed it into the App Store. If they allowed it into the App Store, then they should allow it to be specified as the default browser.

Agreed! It’s in Apple’s best interest to make users happy using the apps that they choose. That’s how you sell someone their next iPhone.