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Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

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Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#131

Post by glogla »

vmception wrote: post #32
clomond wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating analogy. Given the fundamental differences between corporations and governments (and the span of control they have over people’s lives) I do not believe this analogy can be used for any useful inference. It’s almost as if this example with app stores is an incredibly specific, narrow example, and government control in this way is incredibly broad in impact (I.e. life or death, end of the actual world etc)…

> Given the fundamental differences between corporations and governments I disagree with that line. I feel like people are desperate for there to be a difference based on some 9th grade civics class, or because an animated anthropomorphic piece of paper sang to them about bills in elementary school. The British East India company had the power to jail and kill, for centuries. The Head of the Executive Branch is the C…

There are two important differences:

1) Head of Executive branch is limited by law (constitution, etc). CEO is not limited

2) The Raison d'être of government, at least de iure, is to do good for its citizens, while the raison d'être of corporation is to make money.

That makes them very different - not a lot of people would object to removal of nonproductive employees or customers, but many would (I hope!) object removal (through whatever means) of "nonproductive" citizens.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#132

Post by mrtksn »

tallanvor wrote: post #125
mrtksn wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It creates multiple places to look for payments. Also, if the price is 0.99 vs 1.29 I would feel bad if I opt out for 1.29 with Apple despite the fact that 0.3p isn't changing anything for me but I would feel obligated to enter CC details to get the discount(Yes I know it's not logical but Humans, Aye? If people were logical half of the economy wouldn't be around). It's a friction I don't want to have in my life. The…

You would feel bad because you would know that Apple isn't providing a service worth 30% of the app's cost, leaving you feeling cheated.

Not at all, I wouldn't care who gets the money. Often company structure and relationships are complex and many times people who boycott a brand end up buying from the brand owned by the same company.

More importantly, It's a well know that people in the game industry are overworked and underpaid and it's not because of the Apple's cut. I don't know about the situation in Epic, but if it happens that Apple lowers the rates most certainly the difference will go to C level executives(that are not underpaid already).

If Apple gets the money, they at least will pay a decent salary to their people. The game makers can consider cutting bonuses if the money is tight.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#133

Post by thowawayyy »

randomsearch wrote: post #116
thowawayyy wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to me that failure and a real reversal of the course China was on started from 2012 when Xi got power, so yes. Could have happened anyways of course but the change was drastic and clear from that point on.

I agree with your timeline. Do you not think that the second half of that period, when Trump has been president, that he may have contributed to the problem by providing an opportuniy for Xi Jinping?

I don't think Trump (or anyone, really) would have had much impact on China's internal politics during that period, and opening up is very much an internal matter. It's generally hard at this point to see external pressures (small as they are) having much impact at all.

I don't deny that Trump has potentially enabled Xi to make some moves faster and bolder. But those moves would likely have happened anyway and on the bright side it's maybe easier for the world to see what's going with the lies being so obvious nowadays.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#134

Post by jariel »

znpy wrote: post #61
jariel wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" is somehow equivalent to the luxury item that is an iPhone" A mobile phone is not a 'luxury' - it's almost an essential good these days. Even without that, an iPhone doesn't meet the criteria of 'luxury good'. It's just a little more expensive. Android and iOS have an important market locked down, it's time for some basic regulation.

A little more expensive isn't an accurate description. I have a 200€ xiaomi phone (redmi note 4) that works very well and I have little to no complaints. An iPhone costed 4-5 times that amount when I bought my phone, and does essentially the same things. But it's shinier. Yes, the iPhone is a luxury good. Edit, just to clarify: I have used an iPhone for an extended period of time (company issued): yes, the iPhone pre…

Products or services that are consumed in quantities by broad classes of individuals, generally are not a luxury goods.

A more specific definition [1]

FYI there are tons of mobiles in the iPhone price range.

Ferraris, yachts, bespoke suits, exclusive trips to Antartica, private engagements with former Presidents, a closet full of Gucci - luxury goods.

Due to the sophisticated nature of mobile tech, there are really no such thing as 'luxury goods' in that category, because he market size would be far too small to support the massive R&D effort. Which is why Bang & Olufsun don't make phones.

Of course Apple definitely takes cues from luxury good makers in their marketing.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_goods#:~:text=In%20econ....

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#135

Post by redis_mlc »

nindalf wrote: post #56
baddox wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The British East India company was a government actor. It’s silly to consider them otherwise simply because it was technically a “joint-stock company.” It was part of the government. Wikipedia even notes: > Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies"

> It was part of the government. It was not. It did not answer to Parliament, only to its shareholders. It has the best of both worlds though, because many powerful MPs were shareholders. So they got govt protection without govt oversight.

Well ... why do you think the British Navy was the biggest in the world? To protect trade.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#137

Post by gandutraveler »

praveen9920 wrote: post #73

People have lot of opinions about apple but looking at ground reality of the situation, Within Apple, there must be a small team which is taking all the decisions for this product and they realized that they need to do CC integration for improving profits. Should we hold the whole company for this? Yes, of course. Real question should be how can a company which is as big as Apple can make sure their standards are pro…

Totally agree. There are company policies which are enforced across teams like trust, safety privacy either via process or reviews. I haven't seen any large tech companies having policies/safeguards on how the revenue is made. In the end it's all about making money.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#138

Post by ssss11 »

randomsearch wrote: post #81
ssss11 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the western world hoped China would open up over the past 20 years.. unfortunately that strategy has become a spectacular failure

Would it have been such a failure without the election of Trump?

I do think the underlying problems existed before him. For instance, the west allowed all manufacturing eggs to be put in China's basket for over 30 years without diversifying sourcing. Another example is that China insists you venture with a local company to do business there yet I htink it's very rare (or non-existent) in other countries.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#139

Post by asgard1024 »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #99
asgard1024 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Corporations usually sell goods and services, but do not have control over individuals most fundamental rights including those of freedom, health or even life - like governments often do. And yet in the U.S., your health care and pension is often tied to your employment at a corporation. For some people, for example those on work visa, having employment in a particular corporation is tied to living in the same coun…

> I can freely criticize the government but criticizing the corporation is often difficult. What do you mean by this? Google is a smoking pile of dumpster fires filled with turds. Should I now expect Google agents to come to my house and disappear my family and I?

I come from a former communist country. Non-existence of free speech didn't always mean that somebody will disappear you. It might also have meant that you lose your cushy job and get a less cushy job. Which is not really all that different from what can happen if you openly criticize the CEO of your corporation, even internally.

Re: Apple Music on Android asks user's card details to avoid Google's 30% cut

#140

Post by angio »

jeswin wrote: post #63
kanobo wrote: post #7

Apple and Google are similar to China and America. Apple has more restrictive policies within a walled garden. Google gives more freedoms but its platform is wild and open. It's easy for Apple to take advantage of Google's ecosystem and open policies, but very difficult for Google to do the same to Apple. It's similar to how US companies don't get a fair shake in China. And in both, the citizens get taken advantage o…

Here's something many HNers might be unaware of. China has several App Stores for Android, but only Chinese companies are allowed to list apps. Yup, completely closed to outside competition. The only appropriate response really is to close markets to Chinese companies until they open up theirs (without unreasonable restrictions on free speech).

Do you have any proof for that? I have a Huawei App Gallery account for mainland china and I can find apps from American companies that have access to the Chinese market (Microsoft, Apple). The Microsoft Teams app is not region locked since I can use it with my UK university account.

https://imgur.com/a/m0UpsKt

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