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Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

macrumors.com

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Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#881

Post by mihalycsaba »

shiandow wrote: post #29
lapcat wrote: post #3

This is just more malicious compliance by Apple. Indie developers are completely locked out of web distribution, and it applies only to developers who are already paying the Apple tax. > To be eligible for Web Distribution, you must: > Be a member of good standing in the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more, and have an app that had more than one million first annual installs on iOS in the EU in t…

I suppose the next stage of malicious compliance will be to allow absolutely everyone to publish apps everywhere , but with some technical warning that is designed to be ignored.

I'm developing an open source app(flutter) I have already started it in a simulator(kvm). I just don't want to jump through all the hoops and pay to be able to publis the app somewhere for ios users.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#882

Post by frankvdwaal »

chargingmarmot wrote: post #880
bimguy wrote: post #869

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not a big fan of the EU after this? They seem to care more about privacy and rights of the people within the majority of the countries that make up the EU then any other outside country that I could name. Then again, I'm not American so I can easily see the influence your country has on most other countries, so to say the "EU have enormous capacity for overreach at the expense of participating countries and t…

Well, yeah, but isn't the EU also responsible for all the trash cookie-consent notifications I get from every website now? Overall, I'm happy they're actively involved. The hands-off attitude in the US is terrible.

No, it's the builders of the consent notifications who are responsible for that. They are often skirting or even breaking EU law to make it a headache to refuse. The GDPR says, for example, that refusal should be just as easy as acceptance. Having to click to another screen to do that is... not that.

In reality a cookie consent notification can just as well be a small widget somewhere with an accept and refuse button, but it's the builders of these frameworks that have a vested interest in getting you to press accept.

I've applied for a job at one of these companies about a year ago, and I asked them about it. They said to me that according to their metrics, there's about 30% more acceptance if they only bury their Refuse button, so it's a legal risk they are willing to take.

Needless to say, when they invited me for a second conversation, I politely refused.

No, the shitty cookie screens with dark patterns is not the responsibility of the EU - although you could make the argument that the EU should have been stricter or more prescriptive.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#883

Post by mrcode007 »

noapologies wrote: post #876
mrcode007 wrote: post #835

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s more like car manufacturer charging license fees to the dealership for their use of the original manuals and tools to provide services that rely on their diagnostic tools and manuals.

But a car is used for more things than going to the dealership, and the dealership does not sell me groceries. Perhaps I want to race, or carry ikea furniture, or jump start another car - it is a general-purpose transportation device. Similarly, I dream of going to Epic's website to download some Fortnite, maybe charge a thousand vbucks to mom's credit card if I'm feeling adventurous, and that has nothing to do with…

we don’t care how the car is used. It’s the dealership that pays the fee on service manuals and access to tools, not the customer. The dealership can choose to pass the cost to customer but it doesn’t have to.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#884

Post by rekoil »

procgen wrote: post #24
internetter wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU has always been enthusiastic about the spirit of the law, and Apple is not used to this. You can see their temper tantrum unfold every time they find this out.

Disregarding the letter of the law seems arbitrary and capricious.

But that's the thing, when your law is legally binding in 24 different languages it's really impractical if not entirely impossible to have a system based on letter-of-the-law interpretations...

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#885

Post by jhugo »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #763
jhugo wrote: post #721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The vast majority of Android users use the Play Store (or the Amazon thing) exclusively Are you sure? Android phones are pretty big in China, which is by far the world's largest smartphone market, and I guess Play Store & "the Amazon thing" (I don't remember the name either) adoption there is close to 0%. Anecdotally I have noticed a lot of people using phone vendor app stores in India (the second largest market, t…

> I guess Play Store & "the Amazon thing" (I don't remember the name either) adoption there is close to 0%. Woah. Is this true? If they don't use Google Play Store, what do they use?

Google and its services are mostly blocked in China, so using the Play Store would require the use of a VPN or a foreign SIM card. There are a variety of local app stores. I've found that people often just use whatever came on their phone (which is often the phone manufacturer's own app store).

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#886

Post by mythhabit »

medstrom wrote: post #260
mythhabit wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I depends what you want from your tool. I get around 4 years of use from the device. I upgrade every 2 years, and my son inherits my old one. I replace the battery if it's below 80%, it's usually once when I hand it over to my son. That is a reasonable fee every month for the tool I get. I'm not tweaking every little thing and I don't need full access. I don't want it either. So far, Apple has created dependable devi…

Claims they don't see the value in "upgrading". Upgrades every 2 years. You...think there are many people in 2024 with an even higher upgrade pace?

I don't see the value in upgrading parts of my phone apart from a failing battery. And if you read it again, I upgrade because my sons phone is 4 years old, and changing the battery is no longer worth it anymore to me.

But I suppose it's better to just jump on semantics instead of trying to understand the whole of the post.

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#887

Post by mft_ »

frankvdwaal wrote: post #882
chargingmarmot wrote: post #880

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, yeah, but isn't the EU also responsible for all the trash cookie-consent notifications I get from every website now? Overall, I'm happy they're actively involved. The hands-off attitude in the US is terrible.

No, it's the builders of the consent notifications who are responsible for that. They are often skirting or even breaking EU law to make it a headache to refuse. The GDPR says, for example, that refusal should be just as easy as acceptance. Having to click to another screen to do that is... not that. In reality a cookie consent notification can just as well be a small widget somewhere with an accept and refuse button…

It's not just the dark-pattern cookie popups that are a problem - it's having any mandatory cookie popups --even the fairly-designed ones-- on virtually every website that you ever open. That's what's crappy about the implementation.

I once read a light-hearted analysis of the cumulative time wasted by humanity due to the original USB plugs/sockets being unidirectional. I suspect a similar analysis of these cookie popups would be shocking.

Hah, first Google hit: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/billions-hours-now-being-wast.... (Not sure I agree with the numbers used, but the order of magnitude probably isn't too far wrong)

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#888

Post by capr »

bimguy wrote: post #869
docmars wrote: post #750

Oh the horror, it must be so hard for Apple to cave to an open system for these people. What will they ever do without their unbelievable tax on app profits simply for existing on their nearly unlimited real estate, that is, the web?! I have no sympathy for their concerns. I can download apps on my MacBook machines all day from many different sources, and it harms no one. While I understand the associated risks, comp…

You are not a big fan of the EU after this? They seem to care more about privacy and rights of the people within the majority of the countries that make up the EU then any other outside country that I could name. Then again, I'm not American so I can easily see the influence your country has on most other countries, so to say the "EU have enormous capacity for overreach at the expense of participating countries and t…

Ya, can't square the two? Check this out: violence actually works, so should we beat our kids?

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#889

Post by capr »

pg_1234 wrote: post #874
bimguy wrote: post #869

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are not a big fan of the EU after this? They seem to care more about privacy and rights of the people within the majority of the countries that make up the EU then any other outside country that I could name. Then again, I'm not American so I can easily see the influence your country has on most other countries, so to say the "EU have enormous capacity for overreach at the expense of participating countries and t…

The EU should make a public service announcement. Something along the lines of: "We urge all EU citizens with Apple devices to have an alternate means of accessing critical internet services like banking, to protect themselves in the event we are forced to block all Apple services EU-wide for legal non-compliance." ... then watch AAPL stock drop below NVDA ... ... and Apple come crawling back, suitably obedient.

"forced" to block... seems like the only ones who can use force is them

Re: Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU

#890

Post by mbs159 »

nottorp wrote: post #371
Loveaway wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just switch to Android, why take this kind of user hostility from Apple?

For the same reason I don't switch to Windows: the alternatives are even worse. Apple isn't the best, no one deserves "best" in desktop and mobile operating systems, but it's the least bad. In mobiles we basically have a duopoly, and the only ones who are likely to care about the customer's interests are regulators. Neither Apple nor Google have any incentive because there is no 3rd option.

> Apple isn't the best, no one deserves "best" in desktop and mobile operating systems, but it's the least bad.

MacOS and iOS are the most limited in terms of customizability (personalization) and freedom for developing software for them. As much as that might surprise you, many people care about that and can't stand to use Apple operating systems because of it.

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