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Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

9to5mac.com

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Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#331

Post by kmeisthax »

adastra22 wrote: post #102
usr1106 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and that's why monopolies must die, in practice desolved by governments. Once you buy a smartphone today you and everybody who wants to do further business with you are at the mercy of a monopolist. For Apple 100%, for Google only 98% because you could side-load. But not a secure and practical solution today.

I don't think monopoly is the right word here.

The power of Apple and Google is literally monopoly power. As in, government-granted copyright and patents that allow the holders to restrain the conduct of competitors.

Decades ago people were crying out against it, but nobody with power listened because they thought we just wanted to steal music[0]. Well, we did, but that didn't make us wrong. Now the world economy is owned by a handful of oligopolist-elected dictators who have maximally exploited the laws in question to make meaningful competition literally illegal.

No, seriously, try and ship a phone without big tech's blessing. It won't work. Hell, Amazon and Microsoft both tried and failed. Everyone only writes apps for Google Play and iOS, and any attempt to make them work elsewhere is a criminal felony.

[0] To be clear, their real concern was finding ways to legally bind China to pay us for "our IP" on pain of being shut out of world markets. Dictatorship is fractal.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#332

Post by lxgr »

mike_d wrote: post #325
nielsbot wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article > “Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program.”

This needs to be higher up. Apple didn't budge, or cave, and regulators did not get involved. Epic could have avoided all this by just responding to Apple and signing the EU Addendum affirming they would stick to the laws. Instead they wanted to get into the news cycle. This is the policy they have to agree to: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/download/alterna...

Regulators did get involved: https://twitter.com/ThierryBreton/status/1765793776692326891

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#333

Post by rezonant »

andruby wrote: post #153
stale2002 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulators immediately started calling for an investigation and we're going to look into Apple’s termination of Epic’s developer account as a matter of priority.

I’d like to believe that, and it’s probably true. Do you have a source though?

It's linked from TFA in the More section.

https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/08/apple-threaten-epic-illegal/

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#334

Post by nolok »

montagg wrote: post #286

One of the worst gaming user experiences on Windows is how every publisher wants their own store. And depending on where you get a game, it may or may not have certain features. And if you get into modding, sometimes one version of the game just won't work with some mods. I understand everyone feels good about increased competition with Apple—and hopefully it turns out well for users—but iOS is hurtling toward the sa…

I don't think you realize your very own example is proving that it's actually bad. If Microsoft did what Apple did, you wouldn't have steam as the one gaming store, you would have the windows store.

Open store competition in the gaming area leading to steam being far in the lead, not the OS gatekeeper, is a proof that it allows for more choices for consumers and the better one taking the lead.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#335

Post by Eric_WVGG »

jeppester wrote: post #315

At least it is now completely obvious that Apple is "verifiably untrustworthy" as a gatekeeper for third party stores.

It really hurts to watch Apple shoot themselves in the foot like this.

A time will come when Apple will have legitimate reasons to crack down on third-party app stores. Someone like Meta will invariably try some crap like sneaking VPNs into their apps so they can get complete surveillance on their users (ex. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/).

Apple is going to have less credibility when they say "no, this is wrong" when this eventually happens if they keep screwing with Epic like this.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#336

Post by greiskul »

matwood wrote: post #259
its_ethan wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

30% isn't some outlier share though? It also has been that way since the beginning, so it's not like they achieved their market position and then jacked up the prices; it's been this way the whole time - and, in fact, they've added programs where smaller businesses only pay a 15% commission..

Not an outlier and is pretty standard. When it was originally announced it was one of the best deals out there for developers writing software for phones. The WWDC audience cheered at getting 70%.

Doesn't matter. Why does the developer of the operating system get to take anything from a sale between an app developer and the owner of the actual cellphone? It is not Apples phone anymore after they sell it to a customer. Imagine if your car manufacturer wanted 30% of revenue from the shops you drive your car to.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#337

Post by w4 »

Eikon wrote: post #180
w4 wrote: post #148

Between this and the PWA decision, Apple seems to be flailing. What is leadership doing?

What was the deal with PWAs?

Other posters have covered the gist of the events, but what creates the impression of flailing for me is Apple taking a hard stance in one direction, underestimating the backlash, and promptly recanting and changing course in exchange for (as best as I can tell) no advantage or concessions. That happened with PWAs, and now has happened with Epic.

Maybe there were behind the scenes concessions made and I'm completely wrong, in which case I owe Apple management an apology. But my impression as an outsider is that there is no real strategy here; executives at the company seem to be throwing their weight around and picking fights at random, getting slapped down, and immediately retreating.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#338

Post by agust »

mike_d wrote: post #325
nielsbot wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article > “Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program.”

This needs to be higher up. Apple didn't budge, or cave, and regulators did not get involved. Epic could have avoided all this by just responding to Apple and signing the EU Addendum affirming they would stick to the laws. Instead they wanted to get into the news cycle. This is the policy they have to agree to: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/download/alterna...

Yes, the EU immediately stepped in and explained them what the consequences of breaking the law would be, and Apple budged, caved, backed down. Not getting out of this one.

Re: Epic says Apple will reinstate developer account

#340

Post by Aloisius »

7moritz7 wrote: post #296
geodel wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they meant once. Besides digital lollipops what else is going so great in EU? jobs? economic growth? housing? immigration?

The EU is on a roll politically, it's much more agile and expertise-focused than most governments. Also he ceiling is a lot higher than in the US given that half of the EU is underdeveloped. Look at Estonia's potential for example, Bolt is the fastest growing transportation company globally.

There's a ceiling?
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