Yeah I can’t see Apple leaving over complying with the law as long as profit outweighs any costs.
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Apple Appeals $1.8 Billion UK Antitrust Ruling Over App Store Fees
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The US National Deficit in 2025 is around $1.78T (i.e. about $5000/person in 2025) and the (cumulative) US National Debt is about $38T, or about $110,000 for every person in the US. This debt is partly paid for by the rest of the world. So yes, "As with most things in life, the rest of the World subsidises the US."
Foreign countries, and foreign investors, own US debt. Likewise, the US government, and US investors, own foreign debt. It's just a big circle.
As for the yearly deficit..well, deficit spending shouldn't even possible/legal outside of a recession or an officially declared war, but that's an off topic rant.
And therein lies the conundrum, Apple's scale is nearly impossible for any company to achieve without significant costs, so to expect real competition is unrealistic. Even the big ones that can do that are unlikely to leave Apple's App Store, and certainly won't go to other stores besides their own. It would be tough to prove a store is a loss leader, especially for a company such as EPIC that uses it to sell their own software. Short of forcing a divestiture of the App Store, something that would cause it's own issues and likely be impossible to do in a reasonable manner, I do not see a way for regulators to create a real third party store ecosystem. It will likely be Apple, EPIC, and possible a few others simply hosting their own iOS apps.
I’m curious. So they say customers were harmed by Apple fees.
Have there been any lawsuits against cellular providers for the harm they caused by over-charging to send text messages? Or the ridiculous prices you used to pay for games on feature phones?
Have there been any lawsuits against cellular providers for the harm they caused by over-charging to send text messages? Or the ridiculous prices you used to pay for games on feature phones?
The UK had tariffs applied despite being in a trade surplus with the US so no he’s not kidding.
The UK is ultra communist in the same way the US is ultra national socialist. If you don’t believe me look it up on YouTube or something probably.
As someone in the UK who has lived here my whole life (50 right now) I can tell you it has never been more communist/socialist. I long for a regime change and envy the direction of the US currently as I know most others do who share their frustration in hushed tones. If the current government allows elections to go ahead in a few years I’m sure it will be the biggest swing to the right we have ever seen. Anyway. Was cathartic to write that. Now Starmer’s ministry for New Speak will probably be tracking me down for dissent!
So it wasn’t more communist in the 70s when the unions were shutting the country down at a whim and everything was nationalised?
What exactly is communist about it? It’s a word people are just throwing around that doesn’t reflect the reality.
"Tracking you down for dissent" is what the "direction of the US currently" is.
Be careful what you wish for.
Everyone thinks it’s fine as long as it’s the other side getting thrown in the gulag.
To the people who think Apple should pull out of any region where it's anti competitive practices aren't tolerated I ask this. Why stop there? Why not just shut down completely Willy Wonka style? No one goes in, no one comes out.
It’s more about overbearing government regulations. That accomplish the opposite of what was intended.
"Overbearing" is a matter of opinion. It's important to appreciate that there are different expectations of government in different regions of the world. Most multinational companies are sensitive to this and adapt accordingly. However many of the tech companies ... Apple is not the worst offender ... behave arrogantly, expecting to be able to do what they like.
Correct overbearing and it's cousin bad regulations are a matter of opinion. And good for apple is has the where with all to rally as much as possible against these overbearing regulations.
Sure. What's more important is regulatory certainty so companies can operate in a stable environment. One challenge is when people expect governments to act to counter what appears to be targeting their country's companies to favor their own, based on their views of governments roles, pitting markets against each other.
No doubt Apple will adapt and find ways to continue to make money off of the App Store. The question is "how will it impact developers and customers?" I suspect it will have more impact on developers than customers, who already enjoy low app prices.
Apple could chose to replace a flat fee with upfront, fixed, and variable costs based on popularity. A developer could wind up paying for a developer account just for access, fees for reviews, and a monthly hosting cost. Then there would be a per d/l fee as well. IAP would incur a separate fee. Apple could change the way free apps are charged as well, so apps suh as Amazon, Netflix, banks, government agencies that use apps to facilitate interactions or commerce pay fees, as opposed to utilities and apps that don't.
Now, a small developer, who has no upfront fees except a tiny developer fee would have to lay out cash up front, with no promise of recouping it, let alone making a profit. I suspect many smaller developers would find the App Store unprofitable and wind up exiting the business. Big developers, who can afford the up front cash, would be the survivors.
If Apple allowed sideloading with sandboxing, much like on the Mac, third party stores could exist but are unlikely to less costly nor have a customer base anywhere nearly as lucrative as Apple's.
In the end, Apple will adapt and protect much, if not all, of its App Store revenue.
Tech companies have long claimed the internet is different and not subject to the 'old' ways markets work and are regulated. It certainly has changed how they work, and tech companies are learning, however, it is not a free for all, winner take all world.