While Apple SVP Phil Schiller reportedly gave the brush off to a customer who complained — 9to5Mac published his email response to a customer where he said it was “normal” for aluminum products to be scratched with use — Apple apparently took action anyway. According to Bloomberg:

The scrapes, which sparked complaints with the iPhone’s debut last month, are due to Apple’s decision to use a type of aluminum that helps make the smartphone thinner and lighter. Senior Apple managers told executives at Foxconn near the end of September to tighten production standards, said the person, who asked not to be named because the matter was private.

The report says Foxconn has been forced to “idle” some factories while it figures out how to adhere with these more exacting standards, though the manufacturer denied that.

Bloomberg’s story seems to correspond with news that came late last week: that iPhone 5 quality control inspectors at at least one Foxconn facility came into conflict with workers over these new, stricter production standards. A labor rights group in the country said the conflict produced a work stoppage.

The narrative surrounding the release of the iPhone 5 has taken a turn the last few weeks. With 5 million units sold in its opening weekend, it was Apple’s biggest iPhone launch yet. Yet the solid opening was marred by widespread disappointment with the accuracy of the company’s new Maps app.  It was also the fastest Apple has put the device on sale in different regions, reaching 31 countries in a matter of weeks. But the device’s design changes, use of new materials, and Apple’s more exacting standards have meant that iPhone 5s are still hard to find. Apple’s stock has taken a beating as result.

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Some sources report that there are now 300,000 apps available for iOS devices. Whether or not the number is actually there yet, it will be soon, and that’s an impressive feat for Apple. But is it the best thing for Apple consumers and iOS developers?

Granted, it’s an amazing rate of growth, especially considering that Apple announced the 250,000 app milestone only recently. It shows that despite the rising influence of Android, developers still like Apple’s platform best, if only because its ability to make money stands on much more solid ground.

Too Much Choice

While I appreciate the wealth of choice offered by the App Store, I do think these library size milestones are getting slightly out of hand. 300,000? What does that level of selection even mean to the average consumer? At this point, the number has everything to do with impressing stockholders, and very little to do with pleasing consumers and/or developers.

I propose Apple do something shocking: Now that they’ve reached a library size that its closest competitors could only dream of, why not go about significantly reducing that number? The App Store already has a reputation as a walled garden, so why not turn that reputation into a positive?

Real Gatekeeping

As it stands, Apple’s nebulous guidelines regarding App Store content basically ensure its legal interests are covered, developers don’t expand the capabilities of an iOS device beyond what Apple intends, and no objectionable content makes it through the gate. Apple has run up against criticism for what some have seen as rejections designed to either stifle expression or prevent people from gaining access to device features Cupertino reserves for its own use.

How much better would it be, for both the development community and consumers alike, if instead, Apple wielded its executive power to enforce a high standard of quality instead? A much smaller library would make the App Store more competitive, encourage more innovative design, and result in higher profits for the apps that did make it through. Good apps wouldn’t be lost amid a sea of questionable content.

Better Tend a Smaller Garden

I’m a fan of choice, but at this point in the game, Apple has the luxury of being able to enforce restrictions that would make the choosing that much sweeter. As it stands, there’s nothing stopping developers from releasing countless carbon copies of a poor quality app with minor cosmetic changes (and not for the better). That’s the kind of choice I don’t want.

Apple, celebrate the 300,000 app milestone by freezing or even decreasing that number. Take your curation duties seriously, and differentiate the App Store by making it the software market of quality, since the Android Market, being open, will probably catch up volume-wise soon enough anyway. Good developers will thank you, and so will consumers.

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