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Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

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Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#481

Post by mediochrea »

phnofive wrote: post #429
mediochrea wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Existing developers who made up to $1 million in 2020 for all of their apps, as well as developers new to the App Store, can qualify for the program and the reduced commission. >If a participating developer surpasses the $1 million threshold, the standard commission rate will apply for the remainder of the year. I think it's exactly like you wish it was.

Yes, but only for the year in which you cross the threshold - subsequent years are commissioned at 30% from dollar one.

So if you're in the 30% bracket once, you're in there forever pretty much? That sucks if so.

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#482

Post by conroy »

I'm happy to see lower commission, but I'm skeptical of programs that require an application and an approval process.

Why not implement this like a tax bracket? For the first $1 million each year, Apple's commission is 15%. For each dollar after that, the commission rate is 30%. No programs, no application process.

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#483

Post by dlubarov »

enos_feedler wrote: post #464
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>is all about Tim Sweeney being a greedy business man Tim Sweeney provides one of the most advanced game engine technologies in the world completely for free for all revenue under 1 million. After 1 million you pay 5% on revenue over that, if your game makes $1,200,000 you pay Tim Sweeney $10,000. If you make 2 games and both games equally make 600K you pay Sweeney nothing. It's definitely a business but not sure "gr…

The greed comes from how he puts his users and shareholders in harm’s way in an effort to reduce his bill with Apple.

Tim Sweeney is Epic's majority shareholder, so if you believe his actions were harmful to shareholders, doesn't that contract your stance that he was motivated by greed?

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#484

Post by ntsplnkv2 »

ROARosen wrote: post #415
dpkonofa wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's a fair assessment at all. Both Google and, especially, Apple have spent millions of dollars, hours, and effort to create their respective App Stores and the people and tools needed to run them. There's a reason why there's a difference, in the real world, between a Walmart and a Target or Sprouts. Likewise, there's a difference between Apple, Google, or anyone else's App Stores. The main differen…

> Both Google and, especially, Apple have spent millions of dollars, hours, and effort to create their respective App Stores and the people and tools needed to run them Both Google and especially Apple have also spent millions of resources and money, making sure they are the only app store in use (by default). They could have spent some of those millions creating a set of rules for independent app marketplaces to be…

> creating a set of rules for independent app marketplaces

How is this any different?

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#485

Post by pietroq »

pja wrote: post #173

I’m seeing a lot of positive comments on HN about this: to me it seems to be purely a cynical piece of PR on Apple’s part. They hope to significantly reduce the pressure on politicians to take a close look at their App store practices by significantly reducing the absolute number of developers suffering the full impact whilst taking the minimum possible hit to their revenue. This has nothing to do with “doing the rig…

In the nineties (1990-1999) we had a distribution deal in the USA with the PowerUp! catalog for a software product that moved a few millions of copies. Of the $24.99 sticker price we received something like $0.80 and that was an USA-only deal. Giving 30% for a worldwide deal when the distributor takes care of all the billing and taxing and accounting and distribution is the deal of the century.

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#486

Post by 1MachineElf »

ccmcarey wrote: post #2

The headline seems to be: > New program reduces App Store commission to 15 percent for small businesses earning up to $1 million per year This is great and will really help smaller developers, 15% is much more of a palatable tax than the 30% they had previously.

If this creates an incentive for developers to keep their apps below $1M, then wouldn't that increase the divide between them and the "big fish" who can easily take the 15% loss?

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#487

Post by bigbubba »

enos_feedler wrote: post #470
carlosdp wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Unreal development fund also regularly funds competitor open source game engines, like Godot Engine. Tim Sweeney is definitely not someone I'd describe as "greedy."

Great. So if I kill someone on my walk to the public pool to save a drowning child I am not a murderer.

Have you chosen the most heinous crime you can think of for this goofy analogy, in hopes the immorality of murder would tarnish Tim Sweeney by association?

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#488

Post by ntsplnkv2 »

ethbr0 wrote: post #362
zaroth wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which just goes to show how Google’s and Apple’s investment of tens of billions of dollars building out their respective ecosystem presents a tremendous opportunity to developers. Amazon made a half-hearted effort to compete in the space and the result is “less than 2%” in your case.

> tens of billions of dollars building out their respective ecosystem presents a tremendous opportunity to developers That's... one way to look at it. Another way is that they'd be spending even more if there were more healthy competition in the alternative app store market. Amazon is incentived to run an Android app store now, in the same way Microsoft was incentivized to maintain an ARM build of Windows: it's not a…

> Another way is that they'd be spending even more if there were more healthy competition in the alternative app store market.

This simply isn't true. Android is much more open yet app spend is way lower compared to the smaller marketshare iPhone.

An open app market means a flood of free apps which means less money spent. Good Devs will absolutely lose in this scenario. Outsourced sweatshop devs will do everything cheaper.

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#489

Post by aleksjess »

"Earlier this year, an independent study by the Analysis Group found that Apple’s commission structure is in the mainstream for app distribution and gaming platforms."

"Nice" deflection, Apple. If I had a penny for every time somebody used this reasoning ala "it's fine because others are doing the same thing" I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.

Re: Apple Announces App Store Small Business Program

#490

Post by kzrdude »

simonh wrote: post #255
benhurmarcel wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should that work in that way on desktop also? With Microsoft/Apple being free to restrict apps to their store only, and taking a cut of every transaction made outside the browser? If not, what's the difference with phones/tablets?

The difference is just a historical choice. The desktop platform owners chose to be open in that way, but they didn't have to. Games console makers chose to go the locked down route at about the same time (in the grand scheme of things). The Mac launched long after many locked down games consoles existed. They just chose different strategies.

Apple takes some yearly fees from developers though, that's nearly a platform tax for Mac os.
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