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Apple wanting a free ride off its customers is what's going on here.

Pay for the hardware. Pay for your services subscriptions. Pay a percentage of everything you spend on apps. All to Apple.

The rest at least is justifiable, because Apple is genuinely offering a service for money. But apps are not that. And make no mistake, it is your money Apple is taking here in the end, not Epic's.

Why should a free app get a completely free ride, less annual developer fees, while, let's say, a AAA quality mobile game going for $60 would owe Apple 15~30% of all sales?

That's as much as $18 from every person paying for the app, straight into Apple's pocket, so what you're really getting after the Apple tax is barely more than $40 worth of actual app.

Simply publishing an app for a computing platform — what the iPhone and iPad purport to be — had never come with fees attached before companies like Apple started locking down hardware you've already paid for, preventing you from running the software you want without paying even more fees.
 
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1. Apple should have an option to reduce security on their mobile devices just like ARM Macs. You don't want alternative app stores or sideloading, then don't reduce your security setting.
2. 15% is a fair commission for the app store, 30% is unreasonable. Apple has continually shown themselves to be greedy under the guise of security and/or privacy. Apple doesn't want sideloading or alt app stores for one simple reason, 30%.
3. Alternative app stores should be 100% allowed, again, if you don't want them on your phone, don't install them. The boogey man apps can't magically appear on your phone if you don't install alt app stores.

Imagine only being able to install apps from the appstore on macOS... I'm not sure why people see mobile devices as being any different, Apple doesn't own the device, I do.

That being said, I don't know that I would sideload unless there was a really good reason for it. Even google seems to be starting the process of phasing out sideloading or at least reducing risk factors for people that don't have common sense.
 
Epic wants more than a free ride.

They want 100% complete and unfettered access to iOS devices. For example, Epic argues that warning messages by Apple/Google when someone wants to download an App from the Internet are intimidation & scare tactics.

What’s next, complaining about Windows & Mac warnings about installing unsigned packages?
 
Epic wants more than a free ride.

They want 100% complete and unfettered access to iOS devices. For example, Epic argues that warning messages by Apple/Google when someone wants to download an App from the Internet are intimidation & scare tactics.

What’s next, complaining about Windows & Mac warnings about installing unsigned packages?
Epic wants such. Free ride they are currently taking 0% fee for any sale in their store bellow 1 million.

So greedy they allow the developers keep 100% of the revenue below 1 million a year
 
I'm certainly not against sideloading or alternative app stores for iOS. But if that is going to be allowed/forced, then I do think that Apple should be able to charge a different fee to developers for the iOS SDK if they choose to go the non-official App Store route. I'm sure Apple would ask for a princely sum to do this, but I do feel they should get something in return for creating the APIs and other tools that devs use to build their first-class apps
 
It's not a "free ride" when they're paying the developer fees. If Apple wants to use this logic, then apps selling physical goods and services will need to be booted too but they're not doing that.
Apple should charge the fees based on downloads 99¢ per download outta be sufficient
 
Meh. They sell the developer subscription. They get their due.
Who/m are anyone to say "they" get their due? In a free capitalist world. We get to make as much as we can as long as we break no rules doing it.
If epic makes good products that runs great on iPhones it will sell more iPhones
Will it sell enough to make up the (potential) loss from the AppStore as it is today? Phones certainly make a good deal of profit for Apple. But, the store is well. Better. Not just for Apple. But for folks like me (the customer). I'm safer purchasing from Apple on an Apple device. And if anyone, anyone doesn't believe it, like it, want it, or questions it in any way. They all have the ability to purchase another manufactures device.

And in all seriousness, it's not for EPIC to sell more iPhones. That's Apple's job. And they do a very good job of it. Epic should stay in its lane. And since removing Fortnite did not disrupt Apple's sales in any meaningful way. Clearly they don't sell iPhones as well as Apple does. If EPIC doesn't like the rules as they have been. They are fully in their right to sell elsewhere, on platforms that more conform to their wishes. OR, they could invest in developing a mobile handheld device. With companies like Asus (ROG), or Lenovo, or anyone that can build a handheld computer. Develop a mobile gaming platform that can also be a phone. Run it on a Linux of our choice and GFO.

It's that simple.
 
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Apple is 100% correct. Objectively. Apple risked billions in R&D and Epic just wants to take what Apple built and profit.
Laughable. Epic paid their fees to develop on the platform. When Apple wants 30% for nothing more than a CC transaction fee, you gotta be crazy to think Apple deserves that. "Oh, but...if it wasn't for Apple's hard work, Epic wouldn't be around and Epic needs Apple" you say, well, Apple needs developers too. Without apps, the phone and Apple are dead. Symbiotic relationship. But ripping off developers for doing a transaction is robbery.
 
Apple wanting a free ride off its customers is what's going on here.

Pay for the hardware. Pay for your services subscriptions. Pay a percentage of everything you spend on apps. All to Apple.

The rest at least is justifiable, because Apple is genuinely offering a service for money. But apps are not that. And make no mistake, it is your money Apple is taking here in the end, not Epic's.

Why should a free app get a completely free ride, less annual developer fees, while, let's say, a AAA quality mobile game going for $60 would owe Apple 15~30% of all sales?

That's as much as $18 from every person paying for the app, straight into Apple's pocket, so what you're really getting after the Apple tax is barely more than $40 worth of actual app.

Simply publishing an app for a computing platform — what the iPhone and iPad purport to be — had never come with fees attached before companies like Apple started locking down hardware you've already paid for, preventing you from running the software you want without paying even more fees.
No one is forced to buy the product.
 
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I want the choice to be able to load whatever i want in my devices.

Either stop your hypocrisy (its for your safety, not for our profits) censorship or allow proper sideloading.

Again, I dont understand apple's customers that insist in having LESS options, which conveniently works in favor of Apples coffers and worse, they insist in taking that option away from the ones that do want that option.

If I paid over 1 thousand dollar for a device, I should be able to do with it whatever I like, not what Tim Apple and Jobs ghoul spirit decides.

Edit thanks for confirming my point.
Why would you pay over a thousand dollars for a device you know won’t allow you to sideload? I mean, isn’t that the essence of stupidity?

Unless you are aware, there are multiple manufacturers with OS’s that do offer that, why not simply go there instead of complaining on a public blog?
 
Laughable. Epic paid their fees to develop on the platform. When Apple wants 30% for nothing more than a CC transaction fee, you gotta be crazy to think Apple deserves that. "Oh, but...if it wasn't for Apple's hard work, Epic wouldn't be around and Epic needs Apple" you say, well, Apple needs developers too. Without apps, the phone and Apple are dead. Symbiotic relationship. But ripping off developers for doing a transaction is robbery.
Stores charge more than 30%. This is a deal. And it's a price that never went up. Which gave every developer access to billions of devices, worldwide. Instantly. There is a cost to doing this yourself, Apple was simply first to implement it and make it super easy to do so. Developers made billions. Apple never asked for more. The developers (EPIC in particular) "IS" asking for more. They want a free ride.
 
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