Technology, Iad | featured news

Apple has to decide whether it wants to play in the ad world or not. Eddy Cue will now make that decision.

Recent revisions to the iOS developer agreements caused considerable controversy by restricting which programming languages could be used to develop iOS apps. Those changes also restricted what kind of analytics data could be collected by developers and advertisers. Now, however, Apple has backed off on its position: it will relax these rules in order to give developers more flexibility. Additionally, Apple will now actually publish a list of app review guidelines for developers—the first time the company has done so since the App Store launched more than two years ago.

Apple is attempting to avoid an antitrust probe into its trade practices by revising some of the terms of its developer agreement. It's not clear which parts would be revised, but government regulators are interested in provisions in Apple's iAd advertising program, and Apple's decision to reject apps built with cross-platform applications.

Setting a high bar for its debut in the advertising business, Apple aims to charge close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year.