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Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

protocol.com

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Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#31

Post by m463 »

villgax wrote: post #3

> We understand that Basecamp has developed a number of apps and many subsequent versions for the App Store for many years, and that the App Store has distributed millions of these apps to iOS users. These apps do not offer in-app purchase — and, consequently, have not contributed any revenue to the App Store over the last eight years. They literally have paid 8 years of Developer Program fees for supporting the AppS…

Isn't that a little like comcast charging websites for access to their customers?

What if I bought an iphone, I am ONLY allowed to install apple apps on it, and I want the basecamp app?

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#33

Post by shafyy »

hyko wrote: post #10

Apple’s position is clear and legal, and it’s how the economy works including the proposed hey.com business model . There’s no antitrust violation here, so pay your fees or go somewhere else. Apple don’t owe hey.com a place in the App store, just like hey.com doesn’t owe me a free email address @hey.com.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you should put more time in understanding how the basics of economics and works to understand why monopolies or duopolies are bad for societies. I'm sure there are some great online lectures to be found on economics 101.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#34

Post by oauea »

donnellycc wrote: post #23
officemonkey wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We didn't get our cut" should only apply if they add value. What value does the App Store provide Hey?

A distribution platform that reaches millions of users.

They already charge an absurd amount for the privilege. $100/year just to have access to the store. Google only charges $25 once. So Apple is already infinitely more expensive with their reoccurring cost.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#35

Post by hyko »

Okkef wrote: post #15
hyko wrote: post #10

Apple’s position is clear and legal, and it’s how the economy works including the proposed hey.com business model . There’s no antitrust violation here, so pay your fees or go somewhere else. Apple don’t owe hey.com a place in the App store, just like hey.com doesn’t owe me a free email address @hey.com.

I wish I could downvote you. What apple is doing is much worse than microsoft ever did, and they deserve to get a big antitrust lawsuit against them. Just because their own rules say 'everybody owes us money' doesn't mean that it's legal.

These aren’t Apple’s rules–they’re ours. It’s the parameters of a free marketplace and flows from the idea of legal ownership of property. Apple has a minority share of the smartphone market, so antitrust does not apply. Antitrust a specific remedy to prevent monopolistic abuses.

If I build a high end hotel and the fee is $10,000 a night to stay there, you can’t apply to the Supreme Court to have your bill reduced. It’s my hotel and I can set the price to whatever I damn well please because it’s a free market.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#36

Post by imtringued »

wereHamster wrote: post #2

Would it be allowed under the App Store guidelines to offer IAP, but then give customers who purchase the service through the website 30% cashback? The price would be the same in both places, you'd be purchasing the exact same service. But a certain group of customers would get a 'loyalty bonus'…

Most likely according to Guideline 3.1.3(b). The biggest problem with the app is that iOS only users can't actually create an account inside the app. It's perfectly fine to use a windows computer to create a paid account and then use that same account in iOS but since it's not possible to create a paid account on iOS and then use it on a windows pc it's violating the guidelines.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#37

Post by simion314 »

Would it be more fair that

- developers paid a hosting subscription for their app

- pay for bandwidth used by the app downloads

- pay for each update review

- optional pay for promotion

- Apple would not block legal content, just put it under a new category of stuff Apple disaproves but is legal.

This would fix a part for the issues with stores, Apple can't say that they are hosting your app for free anymore or that they provide you bandwidth.

The disadvantage I see is that small apps will have to pay a the yearly subscriptions but if the price is fair I see it similar as you pay for a domain and webhosting.

Apple will have to find a new way to make money though, like maybe have better services instead of crippling competition, have better dev tools and hardware.

Imagine there are only 2 companies that offer web hosting , and they will take 30% of your money (not profit but total) and on top of that they can reject your content if they don't like it.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#38

Post by kjakm »

corobo wrote: post #19
officemonkey wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We didn't get our cut" should only apply if they add value. What value does the App Store provide Hey?

Access to 20 billion unjailbroken iPhones

Take away those apps and those iPhone's become useless bricks. Apps + developers add huge value to the platform.

Re: Apple sends a letter to Hey: Change your app or get out of the App Store

#39

Post by spartas »

philliphaydon wrote: post #21

If the app was like $1 or $2 on the app store just to avoid this headache, I would pay it.

So would everyone else. Part of the problem is that hey is still in invite-only, and everyone who is able would just pay $1 or $2 to get around the invitation list.
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