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Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

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Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#51

Post by WWLink »

nixgeek wrote: post #27
sokoloff wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No one would rationally expect Epic to have a developer account with Apple. Really? I would 100% expect most any large company selling anything into the computing or computing-adjacent space to have an Apple dev account and a Play Store account. My supermarket chain has an Apple dev account. Target has an Apple dev account. (Both presumably have Play Store accounts as well.) If those brick-and-mortar companies can…

I doubt your supermarket chain has done things which rise to Phil Schiller responding to Epic with — > We welcome all developers to the Developer Program so long as they follow the rules. Those rules, including the DPLA and the App Store Review Guidelines, are intended to protect the integrity of the ecosystem, developers large and small, and - most importantly-users. Accordingly, developers who are unable or unwilli…

The sooner this "ecosystem" crap dies, the better.

The sooner not needing Apple dev tools or an Apple developer account to make software for an Apple device, the better.

The sooner I can use my Apple Watch with an Android phone, the better.

The sooner Apple stops (basically) requiring me to use icloud instead of literally any other better, cheaper, higher performance cloud service for my photos, videos, settings, and etc without nagging me 24/7 and trying to default to icloud storage, the better.

As a long time user and buyer of Apple products, I'd really rather they have robust security, stable APIs, good UI design standards (once again), and create/support open standards. All of this "ecosystem" "It's secure if you use it our way and only our way" and "it just works (most of the time)" BS is annoying me.

It's annoying, because over the last 20 years I've watched their products become weirder and more gimped and full of dark patterns in an attempt to force you to buy their services and/or lock you into buying nothing but Apple products.

And don't even get me started about the thriving group of Apple-Stans that play the "YOU DON'T LIKE IT?! THEN LEAVE! I LOVE IT! ITS PERFECT AND YOU SHOULD TOO!" game lol. TBH they're even more vicious than tesla/spacex-stans....

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#52

Post by SteveNuts »

BearOso wrote: post #21
Fin_Code wrote: post #7

Sounds like they violated a non disparagement clause and signaled they will not adhere to policy. All they had to do is keep quiet and launch to minimize their liability. Guess they will need to fight in the EU to see if they can claw back.

There's no chance the DMA includes a non disparagement clause. That's totally against free speech.

"Free speech" is all about the government not persecuting an individual for something they say.

It offers no protection in a case like this between two non-government entities.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#53

Post by Nullabillity »

nixgeek wrote: post #27
sokoloff wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No one would rationally expect Epic to have a developer account with Apple. Really? I would 100% expect most any large company selling anything into the computing or computing-adjacent space to have an Apple dev account and a Play Store account. My supermarket chain has an Apple dev account. Target has an Apple dev account. (Both presumably have Play Store accounts as well.) If those brick-and-mortar companies can…

I doubt your supermarket chain has done things which rise to Phil Schiller responding to Epic with — > We welcome all developers to the Developer Program so long as they follow the rules. Those rules, including the DPLA and the App Store Review Guidelines, are intended to protect the integrity of the ecosystem, developers large and small, and - most importantly-users. Accordingly, developers who are unable or unwilli…

I don't want to live in a world where everyone has to live in fear of upsetting Tim Cook's fragile ego.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#54

Post by andersa »

r00fus wrote: post #41
andersa wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A non-disparagement clause is not valid under the DMA.

Perhaps Apple needs to separate geographies in its account setup. Let Epic have the EU account, but disable them everywhere else. Because in the US/Asia, Epic has no DMA protections.

This is indeed about an EU-specific account by Epic Games Sweden.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#55

Post by bustling-noose »

retskrad wrote: post #3

Why are investors seemingly blind to the fact that Apple is fighting tooth and nail to protect their App Store revenue (while looking like jackasses in the court of public opinion and pissing off regulators and their relationship with developers) because if the App Store money in their pocket dries up, all hell breaks loose because all of their hardware products are no longer growing. The stock will crash and the exe…

The investors aren't interested in Apple selling more phones each year than previous. The investors are interested in people using the iPhone as a yearly or bi yearly upgrade cycle product in their life and giving Apple money without much bother and accepting it as a part of culture, especially American.

I wouldn't have thought India, a country that is so price sensitive, would be a place you find so many iPhones. But Indians love what America does and follow them blindly.

The iPhone might not be the next big thing, but for most invested in the cloud and app ecosystem, the choice they have to make is whether you upgrade this year or next. It's like Visa or Mastercard. You can cry all you want about high transaction fees. America is still going to keep using it and give them money.

Investors are loving this trend. Starbucks, Visa, Mastercard, Nike, American Express, Bank of America, Coca Cola and what not. Investors love companies that become part of the culture and despite their horrifying practices, people seem to still go back to them.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#57

Post by Despegar »

Epic perhaps thought Apple might show them grace after the lawsuit in the US. A kind of repeat of the Apple-Samsung litigation where everyone has a "it's just business" attitude and keeps doing business together while simultaneously suing each other. Apple on the other hand has decided they will show them no quarter. I don't think they're being emotional about it. I think it's to show every other developer that they will actually enforce the DPLA that everyone signs, and they won't turn the other cheek.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#58

Post by ajross »

amluto wrote: post #49
ajross wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is indeed an analysis that we don't see often enough. Apple is viewed as a "tech company" and tech companies are all about innovation and growth. And their stocks are priced accordingly. But, Apple is actually extremely conservative with product rollouts and new markets (c.f. having essentially missed the boat on AI). They make phones and sell phone apps. They do a few other things, but at the end of the day the…

> c.f. having essentially missed the boat on AI What boat? Not being first to market with a fancy commercial-grade model and charging $20/mo for consumer-style access (a la OpenAI)? Not having a cloud offering (MS, etc)? Not having a fancy in-your-pocket AI (like… no one? Siri is behind the times, and a better Siri would be great, but IMO the issue isn’t so much the quality of the language model but that Siri is oddl…

AI is producing shareholder value like crazy. No, that's not the same thing as a new market, exactly, but it speaks to the same need in the C suites. Apple didn't get on that boat, and so is being forced into squeezing their partners and fighting in the trenches on essentially unwinnable regulatory points just to preserve the illusion of growth. AI is a much more effective illusion of growth!

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#59

Post by andersa »

k33n wrote: post #43

Apple should get out of the European market entirely. Their product offering is literally incompatible with the laws that govern EU commerce. There's plenty of money to be made in Asia/Pacific and the Americas. Apple's walled-garden approach is innovative especially on the security and stability fronts and anyone who doesn't like that or wants alternative launchers should jailbreak their ios device or just use Androi…

Apple is making many billions selling hardware and services in the EU - investors would cook them for that move.

Re: Apple terminates Epic Games developer account, calling it a 'threat' to iOS

#60

Post by charcircuit »

SteveNuts wrote: post #52
BearOso wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no chance the DMA includes a non disparagement clause. That's totally against free speech.

"Free speech" is all about the government not persecuting an individual for something they say. It offers no protection in a case like this between two non-government entities.

You are talking about the US's first ammendment. That doesn't exist in the EU.
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