The last thing Apple should want to do in these times, where their superiority over competitive devices is growing ever thinner, and there is a growing risk of actual shrinking market share, is force developers to choose between Apple or all other platforms.
Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
11–20 of 39 posts
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#12I've actually wondered if the next move isn't device subsidies, somewhat similar to console manufacturers. Use their market size to squeeze more money out of app developers, then use that money to subsidize increasing the size of the market, which in turn keeps the app developers on side, in a virtuous circle. It could also act as a strategic blocker on Google, as it would work against their openness narrative if the…
> in a virtuous circle
That's an interesting definition of virtuous you've got there.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#13Outright removing and/or rejecting non-exclusive apps is a recipe for a huge backlash, but I could see maybe giving better terms for exclusive apps - maybe only taking 20% instead of 30% of the sale. I'm sure there are a fair number of app developers that would jump at the chance to sign an exclusivity agreement if it led to higher profits.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#14Apple doesn't need to do this to keep competitors at bay. I don't think they will do it, but that's a different story. Right now Apple's biggest strength is their ecosystem. Developers creating high quality applications and users willing to put up actual cash to get them in large enough numbers to create a vibrant platform. The systems map with reinforcing and dampening actions is much larger than this, but those are the essential interactions.
In the early days it was about features, but once you have an ecosystem in place, they are very hard to displace. Examples: Microsoft and the windows platform. US Dollar as the world's reserve currency. Amazon Kindle.
With IOS, people have purchased all these applications. If they move to Android they will have to find a way to get those again. When you have a substantial investment into an ecosystem, you don't rush out and jump on the next one because it's a little better. Or even if it's close. The larger your investment, the larger the switching cost, the more compelling the alternative has to be. From a strategy point of view, those are the most important factors governing the market right now imo.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#15I've actually wondered if the next move isn't device subsidies, somewhat similar to console manufacturers. Use their market size to squeeze more money out of app developers, then use that money to subsidize increasing the size of the market, which in turn keeps the app developers on side, in a virtuous circle. It could also act as a strategic blocker on Google, as it would work against their openness narrative if the…
> in a virtuous circle That's an interesting definition of virtuous you've got there.
I don't mean to imply a moral judgement; I rather simply mean mutually reinforcing.
It's a common idiom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtuous_circle_and_vicious_cir... - and it would be virtuous from Apple's perspective.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#16This is beyond outrageous and can hardly qualify as news. Can anyone explain why they upvoted this in the first place?
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#17This is beyond outrageous and can hardly qualify as news. Can anyone explain why they upvoted this in the first place?
Because requiring applications to use your in-app purchasing API and sacrifice 30% is "outrageous and hardly qualified as news" before it was confirmed. I'm not saying this is being rumored as happening, but it doesn't seem impossible to have a discussion about.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#18Go ahead and scream and/or laugh in disbelief. Consider it done.
The screaming, that is.
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#19I think they'll move to capture new slices of more pies, rather than a larger slice of the pie they already have.
If people are bothered by the 30% subscription take, wait until iPhone users start buying gas and groceries using near-field communication on iPhone 5+ (with a cut going to Apple)...
Re: Apple’s Next Greedy Move: Exclusivity
#20Forcing exclusivity would be a bad idea, but incentivizing it (giving back some of that 30%) would be a smart move for Apple.
If they than limit this program to popular apps they can negotiate prices one by one (e.g. give Amazon a great deal if they don't sell on Android).
You'd end up with an ecosystem where the key apps are exclusive and the rest of the apps pay 30%.