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You download the app and it doesn’t work

youdownloadtheappanditdoesntwork.com

101–110 of 559 posts

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#101
I don't see how Apple can win this one TBH. If Hey isn't offering in-app sign-up, they're in the clear IMO - the precedent for this is well established. So they'll have to either apply the same rules to everyone, or disclose the special treatment for the likes of Netflix, which does exactly what Hey does.

But I'm sure folks who defended Amazon banning Kindle books they don't like will just say that Apple is not a monopolist, and DHH is free to build his own mobile platform. /s

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#102

I think there needs to be some distinction between apps that are the main product (or close to it) and apps that support another product (like there is npo point to having the app by itself, you should already have gotten the product/account before downloading the app). I don't know too much about Apple's rules to know if they use that criteria, but it makes sense to me. An app to manage your Tesla makes no sense unl…

Tesla is definitely one of the easier cases to think about, the rest are in a grey area.

But even with Tesla it's not 100% crystal clear. There might be some buyers who pick Tesla specifically because of the fancy tech features like Summon mode. It's impossible to use Summon mode without the app. So for one of those buyers, the app is an essential part of the purchase, just like HEY subscribers who expect to read emails on their phone.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#103
I think the standard response should be to allow the in-app signup/purchase with a 42% marked up rate and a very clear line item that it is the "Apple platform tax, not charged via other distributors".

Worth doing the same to Google IMO.

I think the "right" amount to charge would be something like a standard credit card processor - 30 cents + 3% or so. Maybe a flat 5 or 10% for apps under a certain price. I can't imagine Apple's payment processing and app screening being much more expensive than Visa's payment processing and fraud detection.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#104
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon kills OSS business models by offering managed OSS services on AWS at an unbeatable cost. I don't get the objection to this one. Isn't the point of open source to let the best vendor win? Too many companies fail to realize that you must relentlessly wage war on cost to survive.

They do it at no benefit to the OSS providers, that's the issue.

Why do they need to benefit the OSS provider? The license doesn't contain anything suggesting otherwise.

If authors want credit and money, the license needs to state as much. You can't publish something saying "do whatever you want" and then complain that people aren't being fair to you.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#106

One of the problems is that as a consumer, I like the features Apple implements with this. I can just use Apple Pay instead of handing over my credit card. Don't want a subscription? No complicated process. No need to call a number. No need to email anyone. I just click to cancel and I am done. As lousy as this is, the consumer experience is dramatically improved.

I think this point is worth highlighting. Although I'm not at all on Apple's side here, they are offering something of value. What galls is that they're demanding 15-30% of all revenue for it. Payment processing simply isn't that costly, and I doubt the app store is that expensive either.

They're not charging for the payment processing though. They're charging a premium because you're using their platform/store as part of your sales funnel. They know that being able to sell your stuff on iOS devices is worth a lot of money and that you'll make more money after the 30% cut than if you didn't sell in the store at all.

Apple knows that customer acquisition is extremely expensive outside the store and is charging accordingly.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#107
post #37

Apple takes a 30% cut of all IAP. Google scrapes info and displays it in widgets above links to the actual content. Google charges trademark holders AdWords ransom to protect searches for their own brands. Amazon kills OSS business models by offering managed OSS services on AWS at an unbeatable cost. Amazon picks off the best performing market place categories with Amazon Basics ‘recommended’ competitors. The list go…

> Amazon kills OSS business models by offering managed OSS services on AWS at an unbeatable cost. I don't get the objection to this one. Isn't the point of open source to let the best vendor win? Too many companies fail to realize that you must relentlessly wage war on cost to survive.

Open-source software has large positive externalities and if those are being captured by private entities then this will pretty much lead to a demise of open source software, or open-source software will slowly but surely being turned into software that is more and more incompatible and de-facto in-house software.

This is already happening. A lot of projects that are nominally open source are more and more influenced by the decisions of particular companies which erodes its purpose.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#108
post #5

> "That’s not what we want on the store" -- Apple Vice President of Worldwide Marketing What if I own an iPhone and HEY is what I want on my phone? How can I override Apple's decision? If I can't, who really owns this device?

You can override their decision by jailbreaking your phone.

Re: You download the app and it doesn’t work

#109

There are a lot of rules lawyers in threads about Hey trying to figure out "tricks" that Basecamp or others could use to avoid the rule. That is not how this works. Apple is not a court, which (usually) plays by well stated rules, and cannot remake those rules at its discretion. No, if you find a "trick" to get around Apple's rules[0], what happens is that you get blocked when they catch you. They might update the ru…

It's a bit of a joke to be honest. Hey are trying to market an app on the app store as a 'free' app. Not offering sign up also means they don't have to add the 'offers in app purchases'. So they're advertising the app as free. Even though its $99 a year. Apples 30% cut is obscene and should be less. But Hey are using a 'free' label to market their app.

Netflix is a "free" app.
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