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You download the app and it doesn’t work

youdownloadtheappanditdoesntwork.com

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

#291

Post by jedberg »

realtalk_sp wrote: post #288
jedberg wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my big problem with it too. The cost of maintaining the app store and the search is the same no matter what the app is. It should be a fixed fee. On the other hand the argument is that all the $0 apps are being subsidized by the paid apps, so they went percentage based so that the cheap apps didn't have a huge fee. It would mean the cheapest paid apps in the app store would be a lot more to absorb the fixed c…

Apple's cost to maintain this ecosystem can't be anything close to the insane $50B in App Store revenue they hauled in last year.

I'm well aware it isn't close to what they make, but they are entitled to their profits too.

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

#292

Post by Wowfunhappy »

wrkronmiller wrote: post #252
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An Apple customer can be sure they will: (1) Never need to learn what a "sideload" is, and (2) never be exposed to Apps that haven't been vetted by a trustworthy party. But Apple customers can be sure of that anyway--just don't sideload apps. Anything essential is going to want to be in the App Store, in order to reach customers.

> Anything essential is going to want to be in the App Store, in order to reach customers. The logical extension of that argument is that the Hey app would still be in the App Store and still be facing this exact problem.

Hey is a tiny app used by a few people; it's not essential.

If Hey became a cultural phenomenon, I'd bet that Apple would magically reinterpret their rules. This is exactly the purpose of having competition.

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

#293

Post by Drew_ »

akersten wrote: post #278
p0llard wrote: post #15

Ordinarily I would be inclined to say that as a "private marketplace", Apple is entirely within its rights to selectively enforce rules (and whims) like this so as to maximize their profit, but surely there must be a limit when about 45% of US smartphone users (so about 36% of the population) have an iPhone [1]? At this point this is no private dark pool, but a public market place, the transactions on which affect an…

I dislike the 30% IAP cut as much as the next developer, but what is it about perceived tech monopolies that bring out the hyperbolic comparisons? > Apple should and must be subject to the level of government regulation and oversight that governs other public market places like the NYSE and the CME. First it's Facebook should be treated as a Public-as-in-Government Square, and now the App Store should be governed lik…

> But the solution isn't just going to be just pulling some lofty regulation out of thin air and trying to re-apply it.

That's exactly what the solution will be. Apple will eventually be responsible for ushering in regulation that kills software distribution monopolies like the App Store. It'll be an interesting new landscape to be in for a lot of markets.

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

#294

Post by realtalk_sp »

jedberg wrote: post #291
realtalk_sp wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's cost to maintain this ecosystem can't be anything close to the insane $50B in App Store revenue they hauled in last year.

I'm well aware it isn't close to what they make, but they are entitled to their profits too.

I think the overarching point that's emerging here is that those profits are a consequence of monopolistic rent-seeking...

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

#295

Post by ilikehurdles »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #224
jpttsn wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t relate to this. Some vendors sell me hardware, and I can bring my own software. Apple sells me more expensive hardware with the software only from their “partners”, which is “curated” and subject to a steep 30% distribution cut. Apple never tricked me into an iPhone believing I could run any random software. I know what I signed up for. Why should I feel entitled to anything else?

Why should software makers share their revenue with Apple? We don’t do it on android, Windows, macOS, linux, or anything else. The only value added by Apple is some kind of vetting (they don’t do code review, they just check that the app meets their recommendations... and they are called RECOMMENDATIONS not REQUIEMENTS). My app was recently rejected because i refused to sell in-app purchases and want to keep purchase…

A store owner is not obligated to give you free placement on their shelves.

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

#296

Post by MrStonedOne »

nodamage wrote: post #190

While I agree that Apple should probably relax their rules, this list of "exceptions" is not particularly compelling. The majority of them are companion apps for physical products/memberships for which the rules around in-app purchases do not apply: Tesla, Soho House, Wells Fargo, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, WeWork. Github has a free tier and doesn't require a paying membership to use. Netflix is a digital content app…

Its not a list of "exceptions".

Part of the whole point is the relation to the quote at the start.

In every one of those apps signing up "doesn't work" which goes against the stated goal of ensuring that users can download the app and expect it work. How can it work if you can't even sign into it because you can't sign up for it and they can't even tell you how to.

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

#297

Post by baddox »

jbombadil wrote: post #279

Legitimate question: assume I sell a service that costs $7. If I understand Apple's current restrictions I sell it for $10 on the app and for $7 on my website, correct? If so, can I put a banner on my app that says "hey, you can buy this on my website for $7?" (without any links to the website). Just inform the user of that fact.

You can choose a higher price in your Apple app, but you can’t mention the price difference in the Apple app.

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

#298

Post by brodock »

roenxi wrote: post #213
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can use Google Chrome, and still use a non-Google search engine. I can use a Kindle, and still read DRM-Free epubs. Yes, all the major tech companies are engaged in rent seeking. But Apple is the only one that says users must either must pay rent or throw away their hardware. The App Store and its policies are not the problem. The App Store is Apple's store, just like Amazon.com is Amazon's store. But the App Store…

These things are true; and also a significant component of Apple's value proposition. An Apple customer can be sure they will: 1) Never need to learn what a "sideload" is 2) Never be exposed to Apps that havn't been vetted by a trustworthy party (in this case Apple) Apple is taking the opportunity to milk app developers, but they've done an effective job of positioning the milking process so that it is done in the us…

It's not the developers that are being milked up, it's the consumers. The 30% tax is transferred over to you by having a higher price when buying from the IAP.

No one "eats up" that loss.

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

#299

Post by eddieroger »

moooo99 wrote: post #115
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #2

It's a good thing for Apple that WWDC isn't in-person this year. I wouldn't trust the developers in the audience to stay quiet and applause at the announcements this year...

I'm surprised that Hey! managed to create such a big public outrage about that issue. Years ago Spotify complained about the very same thing and given that Spotify has a much bigger userbase I kind of expected the outrage to be bigger. I suppose a large share of the potential Hey customers work in tech and might have a better understanding of what the app store tax actually means. And the EU anti trust investigations…

Everyone is home on their mobile devices waiting for things to happen. I don’t think this outrage is as widespread as it seems, we just live in a tech echo chamber that is resonating pretty loudly right now. And, it’s the weekend before WWDC, so Apple headlines grab extra attention. I think if this happened six months ago, no one would be talking about Hey and they’d have acquiesced by now.

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

#300

Post by Wowfunhappy »

roenxi wrote: post #272
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An Apple customer can be sure they will: (1) Never need to learn what a "sideload" is, and (2) never be exposed to Apps that haven't been vetted by a trustworthy party. But Apple customers can be sure of that anyway--just don't sideload apps. Anything essential is going to want to be in the App Store, in order to reach customers.

> But Apple customers can be sure of that anyway--just don't sideload apps. Well, no. At some point they'd need to know what it is to decide if they wanted it or not. At some point they'd encounter an App that isn't in the App store and have to figure out sideloading. We've got a whole heap of people commenting here today who give off a distinct "I want to bypass the App Store" vibe. User hat on, I'd rather they were…

> I don't think there is enough reflecting here on just how critical a phone is.

But see, I'm think that's exactly what I'm doing--the app store gives China an easy way to take safety apps from protestors. A phone is too important for it to be out of the user's control.

I understand the security implications, but when I weigh the societal issues, Apple's model seems much more dangerous.

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