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Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

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Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#51
post #10

Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable. Want to bypass that cut? Build a web app and make it play well on mobile. If you want to run it on Android and iOS devices, then I don't really see how anyone can say…

It's rent-seeking behavior and negative for society. If they don't want to open their platform for competition then the app stores should be regulated like the public utilities they are.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#52
post #10

Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable. Want to bypass that cut? Build a web app and make it play well on mobile. If you want to run it on Android and iOS devices, then I don't really see how anyone can say…

As a counter point consider Microsoft Windows. It also represented a huge investment and R&D and for the most part, you can easily build and deploy and application to anybody without ever having to pay a fee.

That was because Microsoft made money from selling Windows. With Android, Google gives it away free and has to extract money by either monetizing user data, or taking a cut from application developers.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#53
post #11
post #2

> Epic Games will be launching its hit game Fortnite for Android on its own website, and fans will only be able to download the game there, not on Google Play ... while the setting that blocks third-party installations can be disabled on Android phones. If they are talking about disabling it system wide vs disabling it for a single application, is this not pretty irresponsible? Lots of kids play Fortnite, saying "hey…

You're right that it's a bad situation for millions of kids to be told to turn off security settings, it seems like that's a bad situation for Android/Google/Samsung than it is for Epic Games. It's kind of Google's own fault for tying their 'security' into a huge tax. If Google offered certification for a fixed cost then this wouldn't be an issue - you could distribute certified apps yourself and not have the problem…

> The problem is they tied certification into a tax and appearing in the appstore.

If you were more profit motivated, you might argue the problem is allowing externally installed software. Granted they foolishly obtained too large of a market share to have any say in that anymore.

If you care about users though, yes, the cost barriers for devs are a problem no matter who puts them up. Ideally the cost is in the phone purchase, not the continued use.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#54
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully these kids will be exposed to the idea that they can choose what software they use rather than being limited to a curated store.

They will most likely be scammed into downloading spyware.

Having grown up in the time of Windows being very malware-heavy, it was not the children getting scammed.

And much of the bad behavior, such as simple apps bombarding people with ads, is standard in programs found in mobile app stores now anyway.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#55
post #10

Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable. Want to bypass that cut? Build a web app and make it play well on mobile. If you want to run it on Android and iOS devices, then I don't really see how anyone can say…

Not thugs, just deceptive and double-dipping (in a short-sighted, money-grabbing way).

I'm the customer when I buy the phone, but then I'm the product when I buy software. This double-aligns the incentives and is the reason why it's such a terrible (non-existent) experience trying to buy digital media on an iPhone.

Sure, Amazon & Netflix could pay the 30% cut and make it seamless for me, but this is similar to a trade tariff. Ultimately the cost will be paid by the users of the phones since companies have to charge those users more to make the same profit.

This is "fair" from a "welcome to capitalism" stance, but it's outright counter to usual mantra of "we make money when people buy devices."

(s/Apple/Google/ if you want)

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#56
post #10

Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable. Want to bypass that cut? Build a web app and make it play well on mobile. If you want to run it on Android and iOS devices, then I don't really see how anyone can say…

I don’t know how this came to be accepted as normal. I’m older so I remember when you used to buy a device or OS and software to run on it separately. What you paid for the device or OS was what funded those things. There is no reason why the same shouldn’t be true for Apple iOS/iPhone and Google Android/whatever-they’re-stopping-support-for-next.

App Store takes a cut to use the App Store? Fine. But a reasonable cut simply for that convenience would be more like 10%.

Wonder if we’ll ever see a government crack down on tech company monopolies again (or any monopoly).

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#57
post #10

Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable. Want to bypass that cut? Build a web app and make it play well on mobile. If you want to run it on Android and iOS devices, then I don't really see how anyone can say…

> Apple and Google not only created the device and funded the R & D for the features, but also created the APIs, the tools, the infrastructure, and attracted the (hundreds of millions of) users. The 30% cut they ask of developers is more than reasonable.

I follow you up until the 30% cut. Users are already paying for the hardware and software. Why is Apple taking a continual cut for value produced by other parties? If anything, they should be paying the writers of the software for selling their phones. Without the apps on the store, they're just a browser and a phone stuck together.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#58
Does this means that any app distributed outside the store doesn't get access to closed features like Google Cloud Messaging? If so that's another reason to support sideloading since right now using MicroG seems like a pain in the ass (if you, like me, need a lot of problematic apps)

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#59
post #46

I miss the idea that a platform, applications, and marketplace were not a vertical stack owned by one entity. As a consumer, I’d love to buy a phone, not a content distribution straight jacket.

As a consumer, I love it. I love that I buy an iPhone and Apple doesn't allow any non-trusted binaries to run on my phone, enforces strict style guidelines (the average app just looks better on my iPhone than Android IMO), has one place where all possible apps are, maintains a distribution channels that allows all my apps to be updated easily, and builds hardware and software that is designed to work together. I love…

Is it that you love that they don't give you the choice of restricting or not restricting installs? Or simply appreciate that app vetting and security are services you're willing to pay for. It seems more like the latter, but you're expressing more like the former.

I can see the value in the vetting service to a lot of people, but I just don't understand the idea of embracing a forced restriction on other people that you happen to like yourself.

Re: Netflix is the latest company to try bypassing Apple’s app store

#60
post #44
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think this argument also applies to personal computers? If not, what's the difference?

I am not 100% sure and able to provide a link, but I'm almost certain the Microsoft store does this too.

Even if it did, on a pc you can still install apps from outside of the store without root access.
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