I wonder if this isn’t going to have the opposite effect. If Apple doesn’t get to restrict application developers through the App Store, then will they follow the gaming console model of restricting access to the SDK? I mean, this isn’t a new issue. It’s been the bane of game distribution for as long as we’ve had independent game developers. But if you want to have some semblance of control over a software ecosystem, could there be a similar shift where users could install whatever software they’d like... but the developers would have to be better vetted by Apple first?

For the sake of argument, let’s just assume there are legitimate security/privacy concerns here and ignore competitive issues a la Spotify for now.