In a recent interview, Steve Jobs appeared to soften his stance on third-party apps for the iPhone. "We'll find a way to let third parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can't compromise the security of the phone," he said. The truth is that Apple doesn't really need developers--at least, not at first. However I think this is the first time that Jobs has ever committed to ever releasing an API. Also, as John Gruber points out, "If the official ship date for an iPhone SDK is 'never,' it can't be late."