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Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

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Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#121
post #10

Hardware/OS vendors should not be allowed to include app stores out of the box, much less prevent sideloading. We'd be nowhere near where we are today if PCs couldn't run Linux, and earlier PCs couldn't run whatever you wanted from a floppy. The fact that consumers are lazy and stores are easy shouldn't prevent decisions beneficial to everyone.

I have no idea who’s less wrong, Google or Epic, but I’m not sure I like your idea. Smartphones and PDAs existed for couple decades now, I’ve got a first PDA in 2000 or so. For many years before iPhone they were very niche products I’m not sure we had the explosion in popularity (followed by technical improvements of both hardware and software) had it not be the financial incentive from paid content, initially music,…

>If what you wrote in the comment would become a law, this would remove motivation to do investments like that.

IPhone sales are profitable as they are, and always were.

Of course not having iOS walled would lower their profits, but that's the whole point, as this profit comes from a detriment for everyone else. Android allows sideloading, yet making those phones is still reasonably profitable.

PCs were expensive tools way before Linux, and it would stay that way if not for IBM were able to protect their walled garden.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Used to have windows phone as a choice, but never ever did google cooperate in getting something as major as YouTube on that platform. (Yet Roku and more do.)

I left Windows Phone several years ago due to lack of apps. Recently I found the old phone in my home and played with it a bit. WP UI was awesome, I miss it. It was so clean, so easy to use, so beautiful. But the lack of apps really killed it.

What was it 5 years that Google denied any perceptible lag on their platform before coming out with Project Butter. Windows Phone was the only other mobile OS as responsive and snappy as iOS.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#123
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which apps specifically do you classify as "utter garbage"? Looking at my OnePlus, I can't see anything I'd call that. The most annoying part is that I can't completely uninstall Duo and Chrome, but neither one is on a garbage level, I just prefer alternatives. Otherwise... I think I used pretty much every other default app.

Pixel 3a. Google assistant. You can't disable it without breaking other things. You can't disable the shortcuts that open it without unnecessarily regressing the rest of the UI. It's bound to "swipe up from a corner" which is an action you accidentally perform on a semi-regular basis. It's utterly and completely useless (to me).

Deep integration with Assistant is one of the main selling points of Pixel devices. New assistant features come to Pixel first, sometimes only work with Pixel, and the device has been built to have as much integration with Google's services as possible.

There's plenty of bloatware on phones these days, especially with the rate Google kills apps, but I can't honestly consider the Assistant integration with a Pixel phone to be one.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#124
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The barrier to entry is not high. There used to be many more options for phone OS.

I doubt developers miss the days of having to make a dozen different builds just to get a single J2ME app working on major phones. Forget about cross platform.

We don't have to miss them, because we live them every single day on Android.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#125
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung has the Galaxy Appstore on their Android devices. > they have their alternative OS This is Tizen, and it doesn't support Android apps at all. It's a completely different operating system, so not entirely clear why Sumsung would want Android apps on it.

> This is Tizen, and it doesn't support Android apps at all. It's a completely different operating system, so not entirely clear why Sumsung would want Android apps on it. It would be impossible to launch a new platform without compatibility for existing apps. There's no way to gain enough developer mindshare to become a serious alternative otherwise. Jolla had Android app compatibility from the launch in addition to…

This is all true, but nevertheless this is what Samsung has done.

If you look at the linage of it (Intel Meego) and the time frame they started it (2011) the strategy of HTML5 support for apps kind of made sense.

Allegedly they are adding .NET support to it?

It is still around and actively developed. I believe it's had some success on watches.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizen

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#126
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple and Google chiming together: "we're not a monopoly, we're a duopoly and that's perfectly legal"

Epic did their homework on the lawsuit, they make it very clear that Apple and Google are each separate monopolies. Because they have exclusive monopolies over app stores on devices that a large portion of people have. But the Play Store and App Store are not competitors: They control different markets. Furthermore, Epic helped highlight a very important point about Android and iOS: They're not actually competitors.…

The supermarket on the corner also has a monopoly on what gets on their shelves, and which persons are allowed to get in to buy their stuff.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#127
post #10

Hardware/OS vendors should not be allowed to include app stores out of the box, much less prevent sideloading. We'd be nowhere near where we are today if PCs couldn't run Linux, and earlier PCs couldn't run whatever you wanted from a floppy. The fact that consumers are lazy and stores are easy shouldn't prevent decisions beneficial to everyone.

That is an historical accident because IBM wasn't able to sue Compaq due to their clean room reverse engineering, and they tried to kill PCs with their PS/2 architecture reboot.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#128

I know that decimate is a colloquialism nowadays but I feel like a publication should know better. Unless Google asked for ten percent of the proceeds or something, as a headline it makes absolutely no sense.

Looks like you're completely incorrect. It's not a "colloquialism", it's just a standard modern meaning of the word. From Merriam-Webster [1]: > 3a: to reduce drastically especially in number > cholera decimated the population > Kamieniecki's return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries. — Jason Diamos > b: to cause great destruction or harm to > firebombs decimated the city…

[deleted]

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#129
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is Tizen, and it doesn't support Android apps at all. It's a completely different operating system, so not entirely clear why Sumsung would want Android apps on it. It would be impossible to launch a new platform without compatibility for existing apps. There's no way to gain enough developer mindshare to become a serious alternative otherwise. Jolla had Android app compatibility from the launch in addition to…

This is all true, but nevertheless this is what Samsung has done. If you look at the linage of it (Intel Meego) and the time frame they started it (2011) the strategy of HTML5 support for apps kind of made sense. Allegedly they are adding .NET support to it? It is still around and actively developed. I believe it's had some success on watches. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizen

well, samsung had no choice really.

on watches and appliances or tvs the android apps don't matter much so android support is less critical there.

Re: Google forced OnePlus to decimate a Fortnite launcher deal, claims Epic Games

#130

I know that decimate is a colloquialism nowadays but I feel like a publication should know better. Unless Google asked for ten percent of the proceeds or something, as a headline it makes absolutely no sense.

Google triple-decimated Epic's earning potential.
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