Why does it have to be a link to a website? Why can’t the app just let me pay, potentially not using Apple Pay?
Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
51–60 of 365 posts
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#52Only in the US feels like shooting themselves in the foot again. The EU is already cracking down on them for their malicious compliance with the DMA, and it’s only a matter of time before similar pressure builds
The problem is that "shooting themselves in the foot" also translates to "earning more money for a longer time".
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why not? I'd personally never go somewhere else to pay for your subscription or content. Maybe if you were a big time player that didn't have an appealing alternative, like Netflix. But for the average app, like Planta or Breethe, I'm just switching to an app that has an in app purchase if yours doesn't. Semi-related, but I also always pick an app that has family sharing of subscription over one that doesn't too (Hea…
That makes no sense, using Paypal or Stripe is very normal on the web. There is no reason why it should be any different in apps except for Apple trying to gaslight us.
My personal opinion makes no sense? I don't really care if an app only has subscriptions or purchases through their website, I'm just saying that I wouldn't use it when there's an easier and more convenient alternative available.
Adopting the language of the abused to describe being inconvenienced by the company that makes your phone is uhh, something.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ironically the App Store only exists because of the ridicule Apple received when they announced their new smartphone which then only supported 3rd party applications as web apps. Back then, native apps were considered a “must have” feature for smartphones. How times have changed.
> How times have changed. They really haven't. 'Web apps' are terrible, both from an end-user and developer perspective. They are a bloated, overcomplicated mess.
Bloated and overcomplicated are design issues, not technology issues. Plenty of native apps are bloated and overcomplicated.
Making good apps is hard.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#55Are the requirements still there for e.g. the EU storefront?
I'm pretty sure EU apps can link elsewhere for payment, but they have to show a warning message first saying that the payment is outside of Apple's jurisdiction and you can't get a refund from apple, etc.
Am I crazy or was this not already possible in the US? When I tried to sign up for Disney Plus to watch the new season of Andor, Disney told me I had to complete the signup outside of the app. Then I got a big warning from Apple saying I was no longer transacting with Apple and wouldn't be able to cancel the subscription or get refunds via the App Store if I continued. Am I misunderstanding what this trial was about?
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#56In the same article: 3.1.1 In-App Purchase: If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cr…
> Oof, I don't envy app developers who have to tolerate this bullshit
You're confusing developers with publishers. Developers love this shit, one simple API that's built in to the OS and you can support payments worldwide instead of having to integrate with dozens of payment providers all with their own quirky APIs.
Now for publishers, who want to maximise their profit margins and who don't have to actually write the code to do all those integrations, that's a different story. But I don't think there is a single developer in the world who enjoys integrating with 3rd party payment services.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#57In the same article: 3.1.1 In-App Purchase: If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cr…
I get where Apple is coming from, though, and it's not just the revenue stream. They want to make sure that if you spent money on something in the Apple ecosystem, you can enjoy that for as long as you got a working device with that app installed. Allowing third-party services like license keys introduce a dependency on the vendor to keep their servers up and running.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
> So it adds legitimacy to the free market spirit seen in markets like EU, which has been criticized for making up arbitrary rules for self-interest. I'm confused a) who is taking the concept of free markets seriously, especially in this context where markets (and competition) are arbitrarily defined and owned by corporations and and b) who would view self-interested laws as either surprising or bad? Of course laws a…
I think a more interesting question is: who is “self”? US is historically more prone to favor business, while EU seems more concerned in protecting consumers. And of course there is the noise generated by incompetence/corruption/lobbying that makes the question of “in the interest of whom are laws made?” very nuanced.
Very good points. I've been trying to figure out whose interest is in our "national interests" my entire life. It sure ain't protecting my interests or those of anyone I love that justifies a trillion dollar a year military.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ironically the App Store only exists because of the ridicule Apple received when they announced their new smartphone which then only supported 3rd party applications as web apps. Back then, native apps were considered a “must have” feature for smartphones. How times have changed.
> How times have changed. They really haven't. 'Web apps' are terrible, both from an end-user and developer perspective. They are a bloated, overcomplicated mess.
Dom api is too low level for application.
Re: Apple App Store guidelines remove ban on encouraging external payments in US
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about the freemium model that is standard in the industry? Not everything is games.
If you’re an Indy developer making less than 1 million a year, you are paying 15%. Is it really not worth 15% (where if your product has value you should be able to charge enough to make up the difference) for credit card processing (3%-4%) and distribution?
I would say no. Especially since App Store search sucks and you have to pay (again) to show up as a top result for your own app's name.
Contrast this with Steam, where search is better and the top result is not your competitor squatting your product name.