Netflix stops paying the ‘Apple tax’ on its $853M in annual iOS revenue

Post by pentae » Tue, Jan 01, 2019, 2:43 AM UTC

sjwright wrote: post #143

stcredzero wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but in the case of the cruise ship, you can just wait until the cruise is over and buy things at your usual store at home. So the analogy falls down at a pretty fundamental level. It's more like you're living in a company town, and there's no openly advertised non-black market alternatives to the company shops.

Yes, a company town is also a good analogy. Maybe even a better one, though it is a lot easier and cheaper to switch mobile platforms than it is to pick up your whole life. To expand your analogy, nothing stops you from owning homes in two different towns at the same time. (Nobody is forcing you to carry just one mobile phone, even though most people do.) And in this company town, yes they own all the stores and play…

Post by 1123581321 » Tue, Jan 01, 2019, 2:51 AM UTC

tialaramex wrote: post #118

chrisan wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention this new(?) tactic with "free trials" that automatically turn into a subscription. I was trying out a bunch of weather apps (why is is so hard for a simple concise app with a radar without a bunch of needless fluff/wasted space) and 1 of them automatically turned into $99/year after 3 or 7 days (I forget). The app didn't even work and would almost _always_ have the time wrong making the weather HUD als…

Europe (maybe just the UK but I think it was EU-wide) banned claiming something is "free" if in fact you must sign up to pay money. You can tell people what it'll cost and ask for a card, or, you can say it is free and not ask up front (you can ask later if you want but having not given you a card for the free trial if the customer has lost interest they're not going to give you one later)

Post by samatman » Tue, Jan 01, 2019, 2:52 AM UTC

max76 wrote: post #141

stemuk wrote: post #136

Personally I feel like the most ridiculous part about the App Store is Apples so called "developer program". Charging 99€ a Year for a nearly nonexistent service is absurd, especially since they are already taking the 30% cut. I am a flutter developer myself, so technically I could publish all my apps on iOS and Android with minimal changes. But since Apples developer program would eat up a significant portion of my…

I like the $99/yr bar of entry. That, combined with the more rigid review process, keeps the App Store's average app quality higher than the Play Store's.

Post by scarface74 » Tue, Jan 01, 2019, 2:54 AM UTC

pentae wrote: post #152

sjwright wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, a company town is also a good analogy. Maybe even a better one, though it is a lot easier and cheaper to switch mobile platforms than it is to pick up your whole life. To expand your analogy, nothing stops you from owning homes in two different towns at the same time. (Nobody is forcing you to carry just one mobile phone, even though most people do.) And in this company town, yes they own all the stores and play…

> though it is a lot easier and cheaper to switch mobile platforms Try telling that to your customers. "Yeah sure just sell your phone and buy an Android device to use our app". And having them use Safari? Yeah right. Apple doesn't even provide push notifications for web apps. Have you ever wondered why that is? The fact is, if your customer has an iOS device, you must include Apple in the transaction and pay them 30…

Post by scarface74 » Tue, Jan 01, 2019, 2:57 AM UTC

stemuk wrote: post #136

Personally I feel like the most ridiculous part about the App Store is Apples so called "developer program". Charging 99€ a Year for a nearly nonexistent service is absurd, especially since they are already taking the 30% cut. I am a flutter developer myself, so technically I could publish all my apps on iOS and Android with minimal changes. But since Apples developer program would eat up a significant portion of my…