The iPhone/iPod Touch SDK limitations

Everyone is going nuts over the limitations built into the iPhone/iPod Touch Software Developers Kit. Some of them are a bummer (no background apps, no access to the dock connector) and some of them are understandable (only can use the official API).

What I believe that the critics are missing is a very important piece of the puzzle. Apple is the master of architecture/CPU changes in their products. We’ve seen the Mac OS go from the Motorola 68000 to the PowerPC and finally to Intel x86. What if they are also planning the same transition with the iPhone? Intel has announce their Atom processor. Could Apple be planning on using it in future iPhones? If so, it would make it a lot easier for developers if all they have to do is hit recompile in Xcode, and immediately their application works on Intel based iPhones. Making developers only use the official APIs could be a step in this direction.

Tags: iphone, ipod touch, intel, sdk