Will Apple eventually allow unlocked iPhones?

It seems Apple has had a slight change of mood towards those who would unlock their iPhones. In fact, it will be interesting to see if this new approach is actually voiced in some form at the upcoming SDK event this Thursday. Perhaps we’re in for an officially supported unlocked iPhone at some point in the not too distant future?

In a recent statement by Apple’s COO Timothy Cook at a question and answer session at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium, stated that Apple is “not married to any business model”. See AppleInsider’s article Apple exec: iPhone “not married” to single-carrier model

On top of that, the most recently released firmware update for the iPhone (1.1.4) appears to have contained no additional unlocking foils whatsoever - allowing the current unlocking applications to quickly be modified to fully support the new release. (See my previous article 1.1.4 is out… but DON’T upgrade just yet! (Updated))

Is this a sign that Apple may be considering a different approach? In the same session, Cook went on to state that the best way for Apple to fight back is to offer the iPhone in more countries - clearly an exercise that takes a considerable amount of time. See the MacRumors article - Apple COO Discusses iPhone Exclusivity, SDK, and Unlocking.

The incredible amount of unlocked phones now in circulation all over the world must be making an impact on the overall strategy that Apple is pursuing. My feeling is that they will not meet their 10 Million unit sales target by the end of this year without continued sales of phones that are intended to be unlocked.

Add this to Timothy Cook’s comments and the “no new unlock prevention tricks” 1.1.4 firmware, and I suspect they may be softening… My recent unlocking experience from a restored 1.1.4 phone could not have been easier.

No doubt this Thursday’s SDK event may reveal more… but perhaps the bigger question is - will the next firmware release (1.1.5?) be as apparently open as 1.1.4?