Apple’s cold war with Facebook has come to an end! The companies will officially be working together for iOS 6, Apple’s new software for the iPhone and iPad.
As Apple CEO Tim Cook had hinted a couple of weeks ago, Apple announced deep Facebook integration today at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple and Facebook had previously discussed working together but couldn’t seal the deal, thanks in part to what Steve Jobs called “onerous” terms.
But now you’ll be able to add your Facebook credentials to iOS and share to Facebook directly from iOS apps, and developers can bake Facebook features into apps. Apple has also pulled Facebook into its App Store: You can “like” apps and see what your friends like.
This is a win-win for both companies: iOS will get more social without Apple having to make another awkward social network like Ping, and Facebook will get better exposure within iOS. Facebook is already the most downloaded iOS app of all time, but this could drive additional activity, as Twitter has seen since Apple integrated it in iOS 5 last year.
What this doesn’t do: Make up for Facebook’s pokey iOS app. Or excuse Facebook from developing its own mobile platform. But it’s a good move for both.
Photo courtesy Gdgt. Check out their WWDC liveblog here.
