I'm not familiar with exactly how CS5 generates iPhone apps but I'm curious how these apps would have handled something like multiple cameras. If Adobe's UI control doesn't include a camera switching button what happens when you install the app on an iPhone 4G? Do you have to wait for Adobe to update their library and for the developer to re-submit the application? Do previously submitted applications using Apple's APIs directly automatically inherit the camera switch button? Is the user going to sit there fumbling with the app annoyed that they can't use the features of the new phone they bought? To me that's a very compelling case to restrict non-Apple approved tools. Not sure this is actually the case or not -- just speculation. I think we're entering a phase of technology being so widely used that even the smallest glitches, bugs and inconsistencies are increasingly unacceptable to people.
I don't understand what you are trying to say. Will today's apps magically support the features of tomorrow's phones, just by using Apples SDK? Like even if it has no awareness of a camera, suddenly buttons for two cameras appear out of nowhere? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.
Typically, you'd use the technology that supports the things you want to do. If you want to program a 3d shooter, at the time being you wouldn't choose HTML 5 as the underlying technology. For a Twitter client HTML 5 might be preferable to OpenGL. Likewise, if your app needs a camera, you'd pick a framework that supports a camera.
Also, even if you don't use the Apple SDK, you would still have to use the Apple API, so you would still get all the benefits of the Apple UI anyway.
> If Adobe's UI control doesn't include a camera switching button what happens when you install the app on an iPhone 4G?
Flash CS5 isn't going to be used to build the next big application. It will, however, be very useful for creating (or porting) games and other multimedia experiences. The iPhone 4G will likely have a higher resolution screen and Flash itself mostly resolution independent -- it might not take long for Adobe to update CS5 and all those developers could have 4G ready high-res apps in less time than it takes an Objective-C developers to fire up Photoshop. It's really not as simple as you make it out to be.
> Do previously submitted applications using Apple's APIs directly automatically inherit the camera switch button?
Most likely not.
> Is the user going to sit there fumbling with the app annoyed that they can't use the features of the new phone they bought?
It's been mentioned many times when discussing Apple's rule changes that developers and apps are easily replaceable. If Joe Developer doesn't update his app, it'll just be replaced by another app by another developer.
> it might not take long for Adobe to update CS5 and all those developers could have 4G ready high-res apps in less time than it takes an Objective-C developers to fire up Photoshop.
Right, because Adobe has always been known for the speed and quality of its updates, especially on the Mac platform.
