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Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

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Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#191

Post by nisten »

30% is extemely steep and I think if it was 15% hardly anyone would complain.

This is just my opinion, but a 30% tax is there because they provide something that the competition doesn't. And that is automated security updates by default for at least 5 years and user friendly app permission management where I really can trust my settings to provide me privacy by default.

You will not get that from Google, they barely support their own devices for more than 3 years, I still have no idea if advertisers are allowed to read my gmail or not.

I remember recently a friend getting an old ipad mini with a nice screen but poor cpu specs, 1gb ram. And guess what, it ran fine, it's getting security and feature updates the same day as every other apple device. TouchID worked, everything actually just worked I can trust that thing my bank account.

And recently I found my old Nexus 7 with amazing specs, quad core , 4gb ram, 1920:1200 screen and now I have to do bootloader & operating system surgery just to get the thing to work.

Everytime I've heard of someone get their bank account hacked it usually has started with a text sent to an out of date android phone. For that reason alone I can't recommend a non-technical person to use android unless they understand security or it's on a brand new Pixel device.

If I'm building and deploying software and I want to have the piece of mind that all my users are running it on a secure platform that at least tries to respect their privacy my best choice is an iOS device and for that Apple wants a 3rd of my revenue.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#192

Post by bzb3 »

pphysch wrote: post #93

This debacle is peak popcorn. "HN Darling Reinvents Email Except Really Expensive Without SMTP Support And Asserts That Apple Is Being A Meanie For Enforcing Their Revenue Model" Yet no one is going to divest from Apple because profit/weird consumer ideology. Also not precluding the possibility that it's all (or mostly) a big marketing act from what is clearly a marketing-first product (Hey).

Wow, Hey doesn't have SMTP support? That's ridiculous.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#193

Post by ntsplnkv2 »

smnrchrds wrote: post #148
CydeWeys wrote: post #3

"Whining" is an overly prejudicial word choice for this title. These are legitimate issues people have with what Apple is doing, not mere whining. This echoes the "if you don't like it so much then just leave instead of speaking up" dismissal that is so commonly used as a lampshade for suppressing dissent. Not sure if that's the intent here but that's what it comes off as. And this point from the article needs to be…

> This echoes the "if you don't like it so much then just leave instead of speaking up" dismissal It's even worse than that. Even if you leave Apple ecosystem, you are still subject to it. Consumers don't like paying different prices based on the platform they are using. They will feel cheated. For this reason, app and service developers almost always price their products the same across all platforms. If a service d…

If you open it up, what you end up with is, no one pays for your app, because there is 20 other free ones that are good enough.

Developers all want into the walled garden because it is a great walled garden, consumers are very happy, they trust it more, they spend more. But when you let everything in, it becomes a dumpster fire of crapware, and people overall spend less.

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-users-spend-twice-apps...

I'd argue Apple's walled garden is better for good quality developers. There are cases that suck - but that is an exception to the rule.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#194

Post by willyt »

YayamiOmate wrote: post #182
codemac wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is not a monopoly! They have a majority (not monopoly) on a very specific US-based market. They aren't the only US market, and they are a small international market. Apple isn't even the #1 handset manufacturer (they are #3 or #4 depending on who you ask), and far and away isn't the #1 laptop manufacturer. The attitude that it is a monopoly is exactly the disconnect between this article and your comment. The ar…

Their app store is on their devices. They forbid any other similar service. So they creted a platforn and enforce service. Thats creating playground, rules and playing the game. Remember microsoft was subjected to antitrust regulations for providing web browser with the os. This was considered unfair practice. Forcing people to give up 30 of revenue goes much much further. By giving customers no choice, it's limiting…

But 95% of computers sold ran windows then. 10% of computers run MacOS now and maybe 20% of phones. Just buy a different computer, or don't... Or if you are a developer, make software for Windows or Android instead.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#195

Post by ghostwriter »

YayamiOmate wrote: post #182
codemac wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is not a monopoly! They have a majority (not monopoly) on a very specific US-based market. They aren't the only US market, and they are a small international market. Apple isn't even the #1 handset manufacturer (they are #3 or #4 depending on who you ask), and far and away isn't the #1 laptop manufacturer. The attitude that it is a monopoly is exactly the disconnect between this article and your comment. The ar…

Their app store is on their devices. They forbid any other similar service. So they creted a platforn and enforce service. Thats creating playground, rules and playing the game. Remember microsoft was subjected to antitrust regulations for providing web browser with the os. This was considered unfair practice. Forcing people to give up 30 of revenue goes much much further. By giving customers no choice, it's limiting…

The fact that Microsoft was a subject to the anti-trust investigation for giving away their browser for free is not an indicator of a just law and its correct application. The law is flawed and that case was simply a hint to MS that they should've lobbied proper people in the government. "Pay us or else" - a typical practice of any government with unreasonably wide powers over country's economy.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#197

Post by flaxton »

I love it when someone tries to tell me what I should like or do. I don’t care if you like Apple or not. I happen to like them, not everything of course, but overall yes. And you’re advocating limiting their success? They, like all of us, can succeed or fail in America. They are successful because people like their products and software. Duh. Jealousy does not suit you very well. Don’t get me wrong, I like Android and Linux too, I’m an expert on Linux myself. But there’s a reason I use an iPhone, iPad Pro and MacBook Pro. It’s called convenience and productivity. And I like it!

Who basically invented the App Store? And now you don’t like that they make money on it?

Your whole article just strikes me as sour grapes.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#198

Post by hinkley »

jcstauffer wrote: post #98

Unpopular opinion: the 30% that Apple charges includes customer acquisition cost. As a thought experiment, if Hey adds In-App Purchase for subscriptions, but everyone who downloads the app has first signed up for their service due to their marketing methods (an increasing likelihood considering this controversy), then nobody will use the In App Purchase, and Hey will send $0.00 to Apple. If someone discovers the App…

When the App Store launched, 30% was a huge improvement to the rates extracted in the walled gardens the mobile carriers were running.

Ten years ago 30% was entirely defensible. That it hasn't budged at all is a little weird. If it had notched down to 25% and then to 22% with a hope on the horizon of 20%, I think a lot fewer people would be so salty.

In-app purchases are a tricky one, for game-theoretical reasons. With in-app purchases your base app can be a loss-leader, and in an ecosystem where 'free' is allowed then you make more money with in-app purchases than you would with a monolithic app. We are already overusing in-app purchases, if Apple made them cheaper then everything would be in-app purchases. In-app purchases also make QA harder, so whatever curation power they have is diluted and usually not in a good way.

My heart says in-app purchases should have a lower tax, because Apple is doing less of the work. But my brain says that the opposite is the case.

What is really hurting the people I know (which admittedly isn't many) is that upgrade prices aren't really a thing in the App Store. They don't even have bundling options like Steam. Which means you have to cobble something like it together via in-app purchases.

Re: Quit whining about Apple and just stop using them

#199

Post by buo »

smt88 wrote: post #92
buo wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean? I don't use Apple or Google products and I use technology every day.

You send emails to Google and Apple email servers at least. You may also be recorded by Assistant or Siri when visiting friends or relatives, or even just when their phones are near you. You likely hit Google's cloud every day when visiting websites on its platform.

I didn't mean to say that I have had absolutely no interaction with any existing Apple or Google service or technology. I'm neither a fundamentalist nor a hermit.

Rather, whenever it is my choice, I prefer to select products and technologies that don't belong to Apple, Google or similar companies.

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