141–150 of 1001 posts
But Apple needs to align the charges more closely with the benefits and costs.
Charge developers for costs they incur. Make the benefits opt-in and charge them for that too. And let them go their own way if they don’t want to opt-in.
Imagine if Microsoft did this on PCs. a) prohibiting the installation of non-windows store software (sideloading) and b) insisting that all purchases done via apps give them a 30% cut. I think this is a ridiculous practice on the behalf of Apple.
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Web browsers are apps, e-commerce is in-app purchasing. App stores get 30% of Amazon. Come to think of it, why are web browsers excluded from the in-app fee?
Because the rules of the App Store say that the apps that get charged the fee are those who rely on the purchases or payments as their primary function. Browsers have a different primary function.
Let’s be honest here, the rules of the app store are arbitrary and designed to extract the maximum amount of revenue from the ecosystem, within the limits of what apple thought people would put it with. Turns out they may have miscalculated.
Imagine if Microsoft did this on PCs. a) prohibiting the installation of non-windows store software (sideloading) and b) insisting that all purchases done via apps give them a 30% cut. I think this is a ridiculous practice on the behalf of Apple.
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I'm guessing the crux of the argument will be that the ToS are illegal in this respect?
It is likely extremely difficult to win such a suit based on challenging the terms of an agreement that you agreed to repeatedly. Every single change to the TOS for a developer account requires acceptance. I doubt there is any part of this agreement that Apple did not write with this exact circumstance in mind. No matter what Epic challenges based on this argument in the end they will give in and look like fools. May…
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Who else is apple competing with to put apps on iphones? Compared to android where you have indy devs, samsung store, play store, or any other store; it's a clear monopoly.
There isn't an iPhone industry, there's a smartphone industry, and Apple (despite all their profits) only controls a small portion of that business. Their strategy also adds a lot of consumer value. I use an iPhone specifically because I understand the tradeoffs between freedom and reliability/security, and I go for the reliability/security. Not everyone wants a second job playing sysadmin on their smartphone.
Imagine if Microsoft did this on PCs. a) prohibiting the installation of non-windows store software (sideloading) and b) insisting that all purchases done via apps give them a 30% cut. I think this is a ridiculous practice on the behalf of Apple.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Imagine if Microsoft only had 14% global market share.* [*] https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share
Why is market share relevant? Also, Apple has a much bigger market share in the US simply because most of the world cannot afford an iPhone.