The Mac App Store gives a hint at what would happen if there was any choice. The amount of software actually available for the Mac is far, far greater than what’s listed in the store. Furthermore, while some quality and notable apps are still in the Mac App Store, many well-known apps are not there. The number of lousy apps is also extremely high every time I go to search or just look at the front page, to the point…
I would disagree with the premise that the two stores are comparable. The alternative to not use the Mac App Store is not just financial, but also allows developers to bypass the sandbox requirements. Whether or not Apple permits alternative payment systems for iOS/iPadOS, all the apps will likely remain sandboxed.
Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
381–390 of 627 posts
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#382Awesome, now let's see the U.S. pass a similar law please.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#383Good. I've been saying this awhile, most notably when Apple (of course followed by Google) introduced a discount on commission for smaller developers. This is completely backwards. I know why they did it. They wanted some positive PR that didn't cost them anything. Thing is, it's the larger publishers who are going to lobby regulators and challenge things in court. It's those same publishers who already have their ow…
It's also quite possible that if they had just set it at 10% from the beginning across the board, there would simply be more sales than there are now with 30%. I know a lot of apps make users foot the bill for the extra 30%, with different pricing if you buy not through apple. This just translates to lost sales. The market is the market.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#384Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just wow. > Of course this should force them into binding arbitration and otherwise challenging the discount should void that discount. So you want apple and google to act as even more monopolistic bullies ... I see that you're taking this position as what you would do if you were Apple or Google, not what is the best course of action for all stakeholders. But you then opine that this is justified because the status…
I don't think he's saying that it'd be good if Apple and Google did that. He's saying they should have done that if they had had their strategic thinking caps on.
The fact that these two things are different is the problem with corporate America. The morally correct thing is always the better thing for shareholders in the long-run, but corporations don't see it that way.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#385Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple admitted this wasn't true in a lawsuit. There were actual internal convos about how they didn't need as much money... > Separately, the documents show that in 2011, Schiller suggested that Apple could "ratchet down from 70/30 to 75/25 or even 80/20 if we can maintain a $1B a year run rate," in terms of App Store commissions, since the 30 percent commission rate would "not last forever." https://www.macrumors.co…
It’s not that they don’t need more money, it’s that, in my opinion, they also shouldn’t be forced to operate on razor-thin margins. What is an acceptable profit margin? There’s no clear answer so you’d be reliant on a judge or congress to determine that.
An acceptable profit margin would be based on actual costs, not a static 30% which means paid apps are subsidizing free apps or apps like Netflix and Amazon that do not take payment on iOS. Charge based on bandwidth/downloads, not on who is using their payment processor.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#386Finally. This is exactly how regulators should respond to the market abuse of these technology monopolies. If they wanted to head this off all they had to do was pay a reasonable amount of tax in the country where the revenue was generated and offer a reasonable (single percentage) fee for facilitating payments. They chose not to so they reap what they sow
It's going to be a hell for the users and the smaller developers. Devs will have to support multiple platforms, different API and options. Also different legal arrangements would be needed as each country has different laws and processes. Remember the agreements and forms we fill for different countries when we want to sell paid apps/features on App Store? I also can't wait to pay account fees for many app stores and…
Users definitely want to have third party app stores. One of the most obvious use cases for a smartphone imo, running a GBA emulator, isn't even possible in Apple's ecosystem because of the stringent app store regulations. How crazy is it that my $1200 phone can't play pokemon red but a $80 linux handheld (or any android device if you know what you're doing) can. Simply pathetic. 9-year-old 90s me is laughing at these pathetic devices of the future.
Side note if Nintendo had played their cards right they could have made the entire library of GBA games available in a Nintendo smart phone app, like 10 years ago...
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#387As a consumer, I’m pretty sad about this. I don’t miss the days of having to go through 5 different user flows to cancel 5 different subscriptions. With iTunes, all of my purchases and subscriptions are in once place. Losing that sucks.
Well, if apple wants to make the experience nicer for their users they can lower the cut which they take.
It doesn't even need to be the same or lower than competition. Since there are so many apps already integrated (and even in future their API might be easier or more likely to be used by app users) and nobody wants to go through the friction of adding new ones they can still be slightly more expensive and retain majority of the market share.
But if they won't then I guess you will know it never really was about protecting the user or whatever, just a cash grab from walled garden.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#388The Mac App Store gives a hint at what would happen if there was any choice. The amount of software actually available for the Mac is far, far greater than what’s listed in the store. Furthermore, while some quality and notable apps are still in the Mac App Store, many well-known apps are not there. The number of lousy apps is also extremely high every time I go to search or just look at the front page, to the point…
The Mac App Store came after there was a thriving ecosystem for Mac apps online/organically and without a middle man, and it provided close to zero value for developers on top of that. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.
I believe there are many iOS apps that have never seen the light of day simply because it wasn't at all possible to make them compliant with the "review guidelines".
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#389Good. I've been saying this awhile, most notably when Apple (of course followed by Google) introduced a discount on commission for smaller developers. This is completely backwards. I know why they did it. They wanted some positive PR that didn't cost them anything. Thing is, it's the larger publishers who are going to lobby regulators and challenge things in court. It's those same publishers who already have their ow…
No. This would entrench their monopolies even further.
It should be legally required that any device that is marketed as a general-purpose computer, whether pocketable or not, and is shipped in a locked state, is fully unlockable by the end user. Without a single network packet sent to manufacturer's servers. That's the only way we as a society could fix this dire situation.
In other words, if I buy a phone from Apple, I should have the choice for this to be the only interaction I have with Apple. They sold it to me. I gave them money, they gave me an iPhone. It's mine now. They're no longer in possession of it. I thus should be able to run arbitrary code on it with highest privileges possible with no hindrance.
Re: Apple and Google must allow other in-app payment systems, Korean law declares
#390In the end it was bound to happen, consumers always lose to special interests, even if app devs don’t want to admit they are one.
Really, this is a "loss" to consumers how?