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Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

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Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#251
post #228

Note to the people asking why this matters: Legally, if you take a position in federal court on X (i.e., that it's okay to ban external transactions by apps using your app store), and you are found to be doing not-X in an analogous situation (i.e., setting up external transactions to avoid fees in your competitors' app store), the court can rule against you in the original case...and then sanction you and your lawyer…

I fail to understand this position. Apple Music is in the same position as say Spotify on Google's platform as a third party media service. Is the implication that they should operate differently or be held to a different standard than Spotify? I don't believe Apple has argued that collecting alternate payments in-app would be an undesirable for third party developers on the App Store - just that they don't wish to s…

I suspect the surrounding context is Apple threatening to yank the Hey app for bypassing Apple's cut by not using IAPs for managing subscriptions.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You can't have monopolistic behavior without a monopoly This is wrong. Monopolistic behavior is anti-competitive behavior that doesn't require having a market monopoly. Think of it as a pattern of behavior that moves you towards having a monopoly.

That's literally every company trying to increase their marketshare.

Anti-competitive behavior is different than typical growth operations.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#253

I really don't understand why people are defending Apple on this. It seems shameful of a $1.5 trillion company to do this to developers. Even more so when they themselves don't abide by their philosophy. They are extracting out a competitive advantage from this on other services like Spotify or Netflix( even without this they have a big one at app discovery and pre installs on iOS). Kudos to Google for allowing the d…

Imagine for a second distributing an app in 175 countries around the globe including all the tax details. I think it's fair to participate on such a global platform and a price for it.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like the issue is, "I created a set of rules and ban users who try to bypass them, but I recognize how bogus/harmful to a business those rules are because I do my utmost best to bypass those exact same rules when I'm in the position of a user on someone else's platform." The contradiction is in trying to support the rules with one hand while resorting to the same bypassing tactics they decry when they're in th…

I'm pretty sure google allows you to do this though, so Apple isn't bypassing any "rules" on android.

The rule being bypassed is the 30% Google tax by using in app transactions through the pay store.

They just don't ban the alternative practice.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#255
post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You can't have monopolistic behavior without a monopoly This is wrong. Monopolistic behavior is anti-competitive behavior that doesn't require having a market monopoly. Think of it as a pattern of behavior that moves you towards having a monopoly.

Which market would Apple be moving towards having a monopoly in, in the App Store policy case?

Who loses when Apple doesn't allow other payment systems on it's phones?

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#256
post #31

Wait, doesn't this demonstrate collusion? The two predominant mobile platforms have conspired to exclusively reduced pricing.

Yes, but it seems that people want to use this to take potshots at one camp, while sitting in another camp that is just as guilty.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#257
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, my stance here is that Google is pretty reasonable with their guidelines compared to Apple. My biggest issue in the iOS vs Android debate is that apple is behaving monopolistically and Google isn't. Using the respective app stores give publishers an inherent audience to distribute/sell content through. I don't think it's unreasonable for Apple/Google to try to profit off of the audience they've built. W…

Apple is a minority player in every single market in the world, including the US. You can't have monopolistic behavior without a monopoly. You can't be a monopoly if you are not the market leader. People want this to be a legal issue but it's just a market issue. If people don't like these policies they shouldn't buy Apple products or release apps on Apple devices.

What tablets are out there that make Apple a minority in the tablet world?

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#258
post #237

Cant everyone do the Netflix "trick"? Or will small players get banned for it? https://www.pcmag.com/news/netflix-doesnt-pay-apples-ios-tax...

Thats what the Hey! email app tried to do and they got denied by App Review saying users must be able to use the app without paying if there is no payment option in the app.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#259
Is there a better source for this?

A screenshot and an indignation comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23564731) are poor initial conditions for a thread, but this thread seems to be doing well despite that, so I don't think we need to demote this submission, but it would be better to find an article to change the URL to.

Re: Apple Music on Android requires its own payment details to avoid Google 30% cut

#260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone could get a developer account and compile the code and deploy it to their phone if the app owner released the source code.

This could be a crucial argument in that it distinguishes between the essential freedom of device owners to decide what software to run, and the freedom of device manufacturers to decide which apps to sell in their stores and at what terms (still subject to anti-trust laws). Unfortunately, the $99 annual fee per developer account nullifies any possible mass-market sideloading possibilities. (Imagine what could happen…

Jailbreaking the device is free, easily reversible, and allows you to run any software you like.
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