Opera Mini Skips iPhone, Citing Apple’s History of Rejecting Competitors
Was Opera Software’s Mini Browser denied a spot on the iPhone? Given that Apple has rejected competing apps in the past, many were quite ready to believe that Apple had reject Opera Mini as well.
The truth, however, appears simultaneously less interesting and more important. Opera has revealed that it does have a version of Opera Mini working on the iPhone (though like John Gruber, we suspect it’s running on a jailbroken iPhone). However, the company hasn’t indicated that Apple actually rejected the app.
Rather it would seem that Opera never even bothered submitting the app since Apple would likely have rejected it anyway.
In fact, the Opera Mini saga appears to be more a political move on Opera’s part to point out how Apple’s App Store policies hurt consumers — how many other apps have never been submitted because they’re likely to be rejected?
Unfortunately, it seems likely Opera is right. If history is any guide, Apple probably would reject the app — if not on some technical point, than simply because it competes with Mobile Safari.
Of course Opera Mini isn’t a “real” web browser, it’s designed to run on “dumb” phones where a full-fledged browser would be dog slow. We can’t imagine why you would want it on your iPhone (that would be Opera Mobile you’re thinking of, which is a full browser on par with Mobile Safari).
Still, useful or not, the knowledge that at least some software developers are simply not bothering to submit apps for the iPhone could be bad news for Apple — especially when its biggest competitor, Google’s Android platform, is poised to embrace any and all comers.
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