AltStore Pal Now Free Thanks to 'MegaGrant' From Epic Games

[Unregistered 4U]

When the App Store was first announced Steve Jobs said Apple would run it at break-even. Heck even Phil Schiller said Apple should cut its rate once the App Store hit a billion in annual profit. Of course that was before iPhone sales growth stalled and Apple needed to find another way to grow revenues.

Interestingly enough, Apple cutting its rate could be seen as predatory. Especially if their cut rates drove customers and developers to drop Android to focus on iOS due to the rates being so much lower than any competition.

The main reason why there’s still been no successful action against Apple in the US is because Apple’s taken no actions other than making devices/services and iterating on them over time in order for people to spend money on their devices/services. Now, if Apple had bought up Android hardware makers and then shut them down, that would have been a red flag. If they’d told software developers that any app they release on the App Store must be exclusive to the App Store, that would have been a concern. If they had pressured wireless carriers into canceling contracts with other hardware vendors before they could carry the iPhone, that would be part of a complaint. If they had taken any of these or other actions that roughly match the patterns of how other companies have illegally attained their profits, it would have been open and shut by now. Instead, Apple’s influence is limited to people that use Apple products.

Apple has been able to build a customer base that, while far, far, smaller than the worldwide Android base, drives Apple’s commanding profit share. There’s a looooot of companies/governments that want at that tiny chunk (15%?) of the smartphone owning population.

 

[Chungry]

Apple sell empty glass and metal shells that run the operating systems we align with. You don’t buy an iPhone as much as iOS itself. Said device comes with X years worth of updates included in the upfront cost.

Apple are entitled to their cut of App Store sales because they provide the infrastructure to enable those businesses in the first place as well as hosting, API security, SDKs and so on.

But one does not bankroll the other.

I tend to agree with the above except that doesn’t square with the Patreon debacle. That’s predatory or a side-channel attack on the Altstore

 

[Chungry]

It's crazy how many people live and die based on every word Apple's marketing machine churns out.

Don't be like this guy, do your own research, make your own judgements.

The world would be a better place if Apple wasn't anti-competitive.

Gotta be a troll. Apple doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to safety in their own store. Plenty of garbage apps are proven to get in and stay there for years. All we have are scaremongering about what possibly could happen with an alt store but without the proof

 

[Unregistered 4U]

If Apple didn't create the platform, there would be no apps to sell; these devs may not even be developers. And I don't get the bully angle at all. Apple states up front what is involved in creating and selling apps.

Edit: And no, based on stores do on Android, I think a lot of resources are being wasted for a very small loud minority.

If Apple didn’t create the platform, these developers would be paying 80% to AT&T to be listed on the AT&T store, happy that they just closed the deal. And, they’d be looking forward to meeting with Verizon to be on their store sometime next week and meeting with T-mobile a few days after that to be on their store. And there would be a twinkle in their eye as they daydream about talking to all the carriers across Europe and Asia to get placement onto THEIR stores! Bit of a language barrier but they’d be happy to figure it out for that sweet sweet 20% share!

 

[ThailandToo]

Apple owns the platform, you can not have a monopoly of your own platform that you create and maintain.

Apple doesn’t own anything in relation to the technology other than patents. As someone on here stated, these tech companies should be treated like pharmaceuticals that get seven years to reap their rewards. That would level the playing field.

 

[webkit]

Apple used to charge for macOS upgrades each year, but moved to a "free" upgrade in 2013, with the cost being covered through other revenue streams. It's not really a free upgrade. We pay the cost through our app purchases and subscription fees.

Apple also made Keynote, Pages and Numbers "free" in 2013. GarageBand and iMovie also used to cost money but are now both "free." Software has become the loss leader.

 

[ThailandToo]

Epic laid off 16% of their workforce back in September due to Tim Sweeney's mismanagement. Glad they have money for petty things like this though!

Probably due to Tim’s anticompetitive Apple screwing over developers!

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Forget the alt stores, you can get those directly from Apple's App Store!

Trojan malware infecting 17 apps on the App Store

Wandera’s threat research team has discovered 17 apps on the Apple App Store that are infected with clicker trojan malware.

www.jamf.com

17 out of… how many apps on the App Store. Like 23, right? Or, do they have 30 by now?

Following the link, ready to read some harrowing tale of a user that had their identity stolen, their bank account emptied, their life ruined by this malicious malware… Wait. All this does is simulate clicks? So, it’s malware. That’s not very mal. I guess it MIGHT run up my data usage, but I am unlimited, so…

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Sure you can - Microsoft got in trouble for exactly that in 2001. Only difference is that Microsoft monopolized web access on Windows, whereas Apple today monopolizes software access. Not exactly the same, but goes to show that you can have a monopoly on your own platform that you create and maintain.

No, Microsoft actually got in trouble for trying to maintain and extend their control over OTHER companies, Asus, Dell, IBM, eMachines, etc. If Apple said the only browser on macOS will be Safari, that only affects Apple. The impact of that announcement on, say Gateway, would be zero.
When Microsoft was saying the only browser on Windows would be Internet Explorer, even if Dell or IBM might have wanted to form a partnership with Netscape or some other browser vendor, Microsoft was forcing them NOT to. If they wanted to ship some other office suite? Microsoft forced them not to. Apple never forced any other company to install Safari exclusively. Never forced any other company to install Keynote, Pages, and Numbers exclusively, it was all always on products they produced and sold.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I heard that Riley and Shane eat three meals per day and they go out to eat at least once per week. Sick stuff from greedy individuals. Where does it end?

I mean, THEY chose the line of business and THEY decided to fleece their customers. And now that they’re paid by Epic, they’ll probably keep their Patreon up and not return that money to those folks that paid up front. But they’re absolutely free to run their business whatever way they want.

Well, until they become a Gatekeeper that is! Lucky for them, they know exactly how large they need to NOT be to avoid being a gatekeeper.

 

[webkit]

When Microsoft was saying the only browser on Windows would be Internet Explorer, even if Dell or IBM might have wanted to form a partnership with Netscape or some other browser vendor, Microsoft was forcing them NOT to. If they wanted to ship some other office suite? Microsoft forced them not to. Apple never forced any other company to install Safari exclusively. Never forced any other company to install Keynote, Pages, and Numbers exclusively, it was all always on products they produced and sold.

Computer OEMs were incentivized not to but weren't actually prevented from installing alternative browsers or office software on Windows machines they sold. Independent computer dealers/retailers also weren't blocked from installing alternative browsers or office software on Windows machines they sold. End users weren't blocked from doing so either.

By Apple not allowing, depending on country/region, third party companies that sell iPhones (Best Buy, AT&T, etc. in the U.S.) to install browsers with alternative browser engines or uninstall Safari, they are in a sense "extending their control over OTHER companies" by "forcing" them to sell iPhones with Safari and WebKit engine browsers. They've even restricted what end users can do.

 

[svish]

Glad to hear that there won't be a subscription fee

 

[spazzcat]

Apple doesn’t own anything in relation to the technology other than patents. As someone on here stated, these tech companies should be treated like pharmaceuticals that get seven years to reap their rewards. That would level the playing field.

That wouldn't work for software companies; they spend millions every year to maintain and update it. This would just lead to companies abandoning things faster than Google. Drugs are created and then done.

 

[spazzcat]

Probably due to Tim’s anticompetitive Apple screwing over developers!

It may be because he has lost millions by not being on the Apple store, which is his fault.

 

[spazzcat]

We all watched this happen with Windows Phone, too. Part of the reasons it failed is because Google would not bring their massively popular software to the platform.

I dunno about ya'll, but I'm not switching to a phone that doesn't have a YouTube app.

You never heard of a web browser? I believe the MS phone had one.

 

[MilaM]

The CTF was €0.50. So, they charged €0.50 to cover the CTF. And I guess, they charged another €1.00 to cover… the blank spaces in their pockets?

The alt app store is also subject to the .50 fee per year. If one user only downloads the store once to install one app, Apple already gets at least 1 EUR for doing almost nothing. The rest is probably for payments and administrative expenses.

 

[mrat93]

I mean, THEY chose the line of business and THEY decided to fleece their customers. And now that they’re paid by Epic, they’ll probably keep their Patreon up and not return that money to those folks that paid up front. But they’re absolutely free to run their business whatever way they want.

Well, until they become a Gatekeeper that is! Lucky for them, they know exactly how large they need to NOT be to avoid being a gatekeeper.

I’m still keeping my Patreon sub (not through Apple) as I’m outside the EU. I’m sure many many others will as well.

What do you mean by Gatekeeper? They have like 3 apps in AltStore and everything else is installed manually or via external sources.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

You never heard of a web browser? I believe the MS phone had one.

If web apps were any good, or even a tolerable substitute for native software, we wouldn't be posting in this thread because it would be a non-issue.

 

[AstonSmith]

If web apps were any good, or even a tolerable substitute for native software, we wouldn't be posting in this thread because it would be a non-issue.

They could be, though. How many apps are actually just wrappers for websites? Quite a few of the ones I have installed are.
Even TikTok has a PWA that works just about the same as the native one (although they really really want you to install the native app for some suspicious reason).

 

[ProbablyDylan]

They could be, though. How many apps are actually just wrappers for websites? Quite a few of the ones I have installed are.

YouTube is downright terrible in the browser. Same for reddit, but I quit them months ago anyways so not really an issue.

I wish more companies were serious about web apps, but alas, that's not the world we live in.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Computer OEMs were incentivized not to but weren't actually prevented from installing alternative browsers or office software on Windows machines they sold. Independent computer dealers/retailers also weren't blocked from installing alternative browsers or office software on Windows machines they sold. End users weren't blocked from doing so either.

By Apple not allowing, depending on country/region, third party companies that sell iPhones (Best Buy, AT&T, etc. in the U.S.) to install browsers with alternative browser engines or uninstall Safari, they are in a sense "extending their control over OTHER companies" by "forcing" them to sell iPhones with Safari and WebKit engine browsers. They've even restricted what end users can do.

The U.S. government accused Microsoft of illegally monopolizing the web browser market for Windows, primarily through the legal and technical restrictions it put on the abilities of PC manufacturers (OEMs) and users to uninstall Internet Explorer and use other programs such as Netscape and Java.

To make it clear, primarily through the restrictions it put on PC manufacturers. In other words, restrictions on companies that were producing their own hardware, not owned/controlled by Microsoft.

Apple makes no restrictions on companies producing their own hardware not owned/controlled by Apple. Can you see the difference?

And, because there’s no parallel, that’s why you can only mention companies that do not ship hardware products that run macOS, iOS or, iPadOS. None of them do, and it’d be illegal if they tried. They do resell products that they’ve acquired from Apple, but that was not a concern with the government case against Microsoft as it’s similarly not a concern against Apple now.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The alt app store is also subject to the .50 fee per year. If one user only downloads the store once to install one app, Apple already gets at least 1 EUR for doing almost nothing. The rest is probably for payments and administrative expenses.

Think about it like this, if they didn’t open the Alt App store, they wouldn’t be giving Apple anything for anything! And, it wasn’t like it was sprung on them like a surprise. The fact that there was a fee was known before they opened the store and, knowing that they didn’t have funding for it, decided to open it anyway.

Lucky for them, they finally got funding the should have had before they started (which, admittedly, was not an idea that would have been funded on Shark Tank), but, unfortunately, there are folks that would have preferred not paying that have. And, they’re not getting that money back.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I’m still keeping my Patreon sub (not through Apple) as I’m outside the EU. I’m sure many many others will as well.

What do you mean by Gatekeeper? They have like 3 apps in AltStore and everything else is installed manually or via external sources.

According to the DMA, once they reach a certain size with a certain command over a particular number of users (ok, I’ll admit, the EU doesn’t really spell this out), then they will be defined, by the DMA, as Gatekeepers. It’s unlikely, as the iPhone marketshare in the EU is anemic at best. But, if folks buy more iPhones such that the marketshare increased significantly (or Android is effectively killed by US regulators), they’ll have to take certain actions to ensure they don’t grow beyond a certain size.

 

[webkit]

The U.S. government accused Microsoft of illegally monopolizing the web browser market for Windows, primarily through the legal and technical restrictions it put on the abilities of PC manufacturers (OEMs) and users to uninstall Internet Explorer and use other programs such as Netscape and Java.

To make it clear, primarily through the restrictions it put on PC manufacturers. In other words, restrictions on companies that were producing their own hardware, not owned/controlled by Microsoft.

Apple makes no restrictions on companies producing their own hardware not owned/controlled by Apple. Can you see the difference?

And, because there’s no parallel, that’s why you can only mention companies that do not ship hardware products that run macOS, iOS or, iPadOS. None of them do, and it’d be illegal if they tried. They do resell products that they’ve acquired from Apple, but that was not a concern with the government case against Microsoft as it’s similarly not a concern against Apple now.

Again, computer OEMs and third party dealers/retailers were NOT prevented from selling Windows machines with alternative browsers or office software.

Apple, depending on country/region, restricts dealers/retailers of iPhones from uninstalling Safari or installing and WebKit engines. Worse than that, they've even restricted END USERS from doing so.

Some like to argue that people who buy iPhones are only buying the hardware, not the OS and therefore shouldn't expect to be allowed to install/use alternative app stores, browser engines, etc. Well, computer OEMs didn't own the OS either yet MS wasn't allowed to decide what can or can’t be loaded/pre-loaded on its operating system. If MS wasn't allowed to, Apple shouldn't be allowed to either whether it be iPhone retailers or (especially) end users.

 

[Adora]

Thank you Pal (see what I did there?)

Did you try it on iPasOS 17.6 or the iPadOS 18 beta?

Seems not to work on iPadOS 17.6. I just tried it with my old iPad Pro from 2017.

But I have it on my iPhone with iOS 18 now. There are even only 2 Apps in it, one is a game called Delta and the other one "Clip" is a clipboard manager. They are free and then there are Betas of both that cost $3/month and a Delta Legacy is also there for free, if you count that too it's three apps.

I also have the Setapp store. There are about 50 apps in it now. When I installed it I think there had been only 6.

Just installed it on an iPad Air 3 with iOS 18. That's working.