Pretty cool idea, the no jailbreak thing, while true, is a bit disingenuous though, since you need your own developer account.
What are the chances that Apple would just revoke all the keys used to build this app? Surely it's against their TOS?
What are the chances that Apple would just revoke all the keys used to build this app? Surely it's against their TOS?
I'm going to guess the chances are near zero. Picture the lurking possibility that Apple revokes your developer key, essentially shutting down your business, because you merely built something on your own hardware that they didn't like. You didn't distribute it, the code never left your network, you just built it. I feel that every argument for "developers will never leave iOS even if Apple does..." goes out the window at that point.
*$100 is more or less acceptable, $100 per year for revocable permission to compile is awful
I think it's reasonable to call blatant disregard for contractual obligations "illegitimate".
Second definition is "Being in accordance with established or accepted patterns and standards", and that's where it hurts me to read the characterization. They are doing something acceptable and that is very standard in the realm of computing, and seeing it discouraged sucks.
Don't forget Apple. They told Apple that they would not use this key in certain ways, even though they do.
I don't see the problem with calling this "illegitimate". Jailbreaking so you can sideload apps is legitimate. Somehow cracking Apple's verification so you can sign apps without their involvement would be legitimate. But signing up for an enterprise account and then using the keys they give you as part of that in ways they tell you not to is, I think, legitimately illegitimate (ahem).
Edit: @downvote, am I wrong? I was trying to trust this comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6047309
If you're making any kind of serious money on the app store, this cost is practically nothing. Maybe 2-4 hours of your time, tops.
Think about how much the Macbook Pro you use to develop on costs.
Once MBS becomes more popular, Apple will have to react to prevent others from abusing this. This is the first real test I can recall of their enforcement policy. Honestly, I can't see any enterprises that rely on iOS internally risking TOS violations in a similar public manner even if Apple decides not to enforce TOS with MBS.
Cydia is the only real competing appstore I am aware of, and they are relying on iOS bugs that Apple keeps patching.