MS has their own app store for Windows and they do charge 30% for most apps except for games which they now lowered to 12% if I remember correctly. iOS is not the Mac. It's been a closed ecosystem from day one, going on 14 years now. The beauty of iOS is the convenience and simplicity for users of having all their apps and personal info at their fingertips without worrying about privacy / security. You don't get that with Windows or Mac.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Testifies in Epic Games v. Apple Trial
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Honestly, I thought he got grilled and didn't do that good. Federighi and Schiller did 100% better.
The law doesn't differentiate or discriminate between an online store or a physical store. Whatever rights are granted to Apple's App Store. If Best Buy deserves a cut of the revenues from products sold, then so does Apple from App Store sales. If Best Buy can disallow an OEM from advertising that a consumer can buy their product from else where and cheaper, then so too can Apple prevent a developer from doing the same.
I am not seeing, nor have I heard or read, where Epic made any headway in proving it's claim "alleging violations of antitrust laws through its Apple App Store policies on iOS devices" (ref. Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. 20-cv-05640-YGR) nor have they proved any harm from those policies, so I expect that the ruling on that aspect of the case will favor Apple.
In regards to Apple's "counterclaims that Epic Games has breached its developer agreements and App Store guidelines by introducing a direct pay option on iOS devices in Epic Games’ videogame Fortnite." (ref. same as above) it seems that Apple more than amply provided proof for their claims, again, favor towards Apple.
Depending on Epic's behavior (read: belligerence) moving forward they may well find themselves off the iOS platform for good.
Old legal adage, "one can sue for divorce, but one cannot sue for marriage". Courts do not like having their time wasted by theater and frivolous lawsuits.
In regards to Apple's "counterclaims that Epic Games has breached its developer agreements and App Store guidelines by introducing a direct pay option on iOS devices in Epic Games’ videogame Fortnite." (ref. same as above) it seems that Apple more than amply provided proof for their claims, again, favor towards Apple.
Depending on Epic's behavior (read: belligerence) moving forward they may well find themselves off the iOS platform for good.
Old legal adage, "one can sue for divorce, but one cannot sue for marriage". Courts do not like having their time wasted by theater and frivolous lawsuits.
Best Buy doesn't get a cut, there is no cut. Best Buy purchases most of it's inventory and then sells it at msrp. Does Apple purchase apps to resell them? No. So it's not even remotely the same.
I'm surprised Cook didn't have better answers; Apple really must not have a leg to stand on if its lawyers had to have their CEO resort to marketing speak so many times. One would think he was on a keynote stage rather than a witness stand with some of these responses. I guess they are hoping he will have scored enough points on eloquence alone.
It's the same thing. Both are getting a gross margin to operate their stores.
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The difference is one, BestBuy, is not a monopoly where the other, Apple, is.
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Except Apple is not a monopoly because it hasn't been convicted of one. A closed ecosystem does not equal a monopoly. Apple has competition in Android, which has approximately 80% market share of the smartphone market. If a developer doesn't like Apple's rules for the App Store, sell on Android. Still don't like it, invest in your own ecosystem.
It's not though, because Best Buy has line reviews, pricing, number of facings, promotional discounts, and fitting it all onto limited shelf space to consider; myriad points of negotiation with leverage on all sides. Their is an opportunity for vendors to negotiate the price with Best Buy, and Best Buy has dozens of other retailers it competes against so it is in its interest to come to a deal. With Apple, it's 30%, 15% after a year, take it or leave it. Also Best Buy, unlike Apple, doesn't have superficial ways of keeping consumers tied to shopping their exclusively. If Tesla were to buy Best Buy, and then program Teslas so that they wouldn't let you drive to other electronics stores, maybe then your metaphor would begin to make sense.
The digital marketplace is not the brick-and-mortar marketplace, and no metaphor or figure of speech is going to make the case otherwise. There will always be caveats or footnotes that reveal it as a false comparison. They are different beasts, and will continue to be looked at as such by regulators, legislatures, courts, governments, and most importantly the general public.
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Doesn't matter how you see. The law does not see it this way and rightfully so.
Neither does Apple. Consumers can stop buying iPhones and buy Android phones. The App Store is not a utility. Developers aren't entitled to have the rules changed for them because they want a free ride.
There are differences between Brick and Mortar Stores and an App Store but it's a distinction without a meaningful difference. For instance, App Developers don't have to print discs, box said discs and then ship them to gamestop (or customers) to sell. So, using my prior example of WoW being available at Gamestop and/or online from Blizzard, at the same price I might add, Blizzard makes more from every digital game purchase then they do from purchases through gamestop. Thus, having a digital sales channel (the App store), even with a 15-30% cut taken by Apple, may actually be less of a cost then distributing your product by traditional sales methods.
Secondly, in many industries, suppliers actually pay dealers to sell their products. Grocery stores are a prime example. To get your product on a grocery store shelf you have to, in most instances, pay for the privilege via slotting or listing fees. The App Store commission is another version of this.
And like brick and mortar stores Apple incurs costs associated with the creation of the digital store and provides a one stop distribution channel to developers that they don't have to create themselves. Suggesting Apple shouldn't be compensated for creating and maintaining the store, providing a world class distribution system (servers etc) and ensuring your product is available to 1 billion iPhone users is not how business works.
One doesn't need to be convicted of being a monopoly in order to be a monopoly.
The same could be said of Microsoft when they were bundling IE. That didn't change the fact Microsoft was deemed a monopoly.
Which doesn't negate the fac they're a monopoly. Furthermore if Apple would allow iOS applications to be side loaded Apple doesn't have to worry about the costs of maintaining a store.
LMFAO you people need to know the facts before speaking. Best buy purchases their stuff at far less then msrp and then takes the cut from the sale. That's how B&M works. It's all done by taking cuts the same way Apple does.
Once again, by purchasing at a much lower rate and taking a cut, they are taking a commision.
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Yes but does BB continue to take a cut of everything you do with the item you purchased from them? I buy a kindle from BB do they take 30% of books I buy on Amazon just because I bought the kindle from them?
If you kept buying books from best buy, they continue to get their cut. Just like if you kept buying them from Amazon or apple
Also, you only get 70% on kindle if you price your book a certain price and sell in certain territories, otherwise you only get 35%
Kindle eBook Royalties: 70% vs. 35% and 6 Essential Things You Need to Know
Even when you select Amazon's Kindle royalty of 70% you may not get it. The 6 essential things to know about the 70% royalty offer for Amazon Kindle eBooks.
www.authorimprints.com
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Once we download/buy an app from the App Store it’s no longer in the App Store. Its on my home screen. It’s no longer apples to control. Just like when I buy that kindle from BB. Once I leave BB it’s no longer under their control.
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You can’t determine a company to be a monopoly because you feel like it. Law doesn’t work that way.
They don't make you pay repeatedly for the same item, which you're trying to conflate. Also, it's pretty fing convenient that you ignored the 35% royalty. You might be surprised to see what what kinds of commissions best buy gets for things like hdmi cables, which they only pay the manufacturer $5 for each...
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What they are is fornite kids who think the judge saying some harsh words (And forgetting she did the same to sweeney) means fortnite is coming back.
They’re a bunch of Fortnite kids who think they’re entitled to leech off of orhers’ hard work for free. God forbid they actually build their own platform & ecosystem that scales to a billion users & actually find out what it takes to keep one running
I ignored the 35% royalty because you edited your post after I responded. Either way, it has nothing to do with Best Buy. That’s Amazon and Kindles deal. Of course they’re gonna get a cut of the book they sell on kindle. The transaction pretty much ends after the sale of the book on Amazon. Apple doesn’t end the transaction at the sale of the app. They want to keep collecting on in an purchases that have nothing to do with them. Like I said, that’s like if Best Buy sells you the kindle but they also want to collect fees for the books you buy for your kindle.
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