Apple’s worst-case scenario might be the best thing for the iPhone

If we know anything about iOS as a platform, it’s that if you want to run apps on it, you need to download them from the App Store. (If you missed it, it turns out that this decision continues to be controversial.) The iPhone and iPad have never been platforms defined by a combination of Apple-approved apps and third-party apps from random sources.

But what if that’s what iOS was to become? Certainly, as legislators and regulators circle around Apple and its practices, it’s possible that someone will force Apple to allow apps onto the platform without them going through the App Store.

It’s almost unimaginable.