I strongly suspect consumers are not going to see any price drops or savings. Are apps on android cheaper than apps from the Apple Store?
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Apple Limiting Alternative App Stores and Payments to EU Due to Malware, Fraud and Scam Risks
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I apologize, got things mixed up.
EDIT: Just re-read, and actually I didn't. You started by replying to a comment I made on the comparison between Apple and Target. But nevermind, it's derailed now.
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Some people wont be happy until they take everything away that makes an iPhone an iPhone.
And iPhone is about what it can do.
Arbitrary restrictions, anticompetitive fees, lack of interoperability and strangling vendor lock-in are not "everything that makes an iPhone".
Android is not that different; Google Play charges same up to 30% rate, devices cost about the same (see S24 Ultra).
30% is, of course, insane, and by 2030 we will laugh when reminded how laughably pathetic capitalists were in their attempts to retain their Internet Tax rights back in ‘24.
Still, whatever Google does is fair, because it’s easy to opt out (both as a dev and as a user) — just download competing store.
Whatever Apple does is not — I’m not buying their «phone users are dumb so we must restrict their freedom» argument, especially since iOS is a very powerful operating system that runs circles around PCs in some tasks.
Thankfully the cell phone market (smart and dumb) has hundreds of manufacturers.
…and that market is not regulated by the DMA. The Core Platform Services of operating systems and software application stores are - because that’s where the (gatekeeping) bottleneck is.
Side note: Not sure if it’s hundreds of manufacturers. I‘d rather suspect it’s only dozens, maximum. Though there may be a higher number of brands manufactured by them.
Yes, but on Android you have other options though. But I agree that the monetary situation for a similar experience is not that different, undermining some people's arguments that Apple is overcharging.
I highly doubt it. Large corporations have been sucking the money out of consumers for many decades, it is how our (highly unsustainable, but that is a different discussion) way of life is funded. Remember back in 2003 when cable TV companies overcharged for showing us crappy TV shows filled with ads? And internet providers overcharged for high-speed internet? That has totally dissapeared since, right? RIGHT?
It's a tangent, but I wholeheartedly subscribe to Jason Snell's take on Apple's high prices on upgrades, such as memory and storage, when people argue that Apple "needs" to change their policy, to avoid losing customers: Apple has ALWAYS overcharged. It is not something that started with Tim Cook (well, perhaps it did, back when he wasn't CEO, but the point stands). And instead of running away, consumers give them more money than ever.
US courts disagrees - Google was ruled to have been misusing their position, whereas Apple was not (in the Epic lawsuits). We literally have a court ruling that providing alternatives does not automatically equal fairness. You still need to treat the developers fairly, which Google did not.
I'm ambivalent on that issue. To some extent I agree with you that Apple is being overprotective, and that they mostly do it to protect their earnings. However, there is also an argument the other way round, that some people for sure should be protected more on PCs. And Apple has been, and probably still is, in front in that regard. MacOS is a lot more protected today, than it was ten years ago.
Back in the 00's, I personally experienced a takeover on my Windows PC, even though I did consider myself an above-average computer user (the person everyone around me asked to install Windows for them). To this day I don't know what happened - but all of a sudden someone had control over my mouse, and started opening apps and looking at my files, while I was sitting in front of the PC. I immediately shut off the computer, formatted the drive and re-installed Windows, so I couldn't tell you what exactly happened. But it did teach me to be more careful about installing things from shady websites. Call me paranoid, but there are sites I visit on my phone that I would not visit on my PC...
That said, I do agree that the balance between protection and openness that MacOS provides today, would be pretty reasonable to provide on smartphones: As standard you provide warnings and limitations, but provide an override for power users.
It’s not about people being given the choice to sideload apps because they can already do that on android. It’s about removing the choice of you having a device that’s not capable of that.
Oh, I totally agree Apple is going to hold onto the App Store for the money just like others like epic are trying to sabotage them and get their hands on that pie with third party app stores
And that is the issue. The needle was threaded to capture apple. They did it. It makes this the DMA groundbreaking, but in the most negative way possible.
If you spot some bullies in class, you call them by name. That's how it works. They have had a negative influence over far too many others and that's where they stepped in. Very normal process.
Just like the EU, US' FTC has had its own hurdles with Apple as well, yet it is the socialist EU punishing the fair Apple for nothing, right?
There is no point in pointing fingers at the EU for standing up for its market, and protecting itself. Apple has issues worldwide and will face more as time goes on and they practice unfair treatment of market participants.
You saying that they behave fair does not make it any less true.
To be fair, I'm relatively young so I don't remember, but I see many examples in real life where having an open market around some things means better prices and better service.
Like when Uber came into our country, but it was quickly squeezed out by local competitors because they've done a better job.
Or when McDonalds was reluctant for years to offer combo meals like all other fast food chains do, but then give in and started offering them, because all the poor students like my friends simply started going to Burger King, which always offered many discounts.
Or how our classic mobile carriers had to adjust their strategies because of new competitors, fancy MVNO startups and so on.
But even when we're talking about global things. Steam was stuck in the past for years; then Epic, Microsoft and others came blasting into the PC gaming market; then Steam had to finally start improving their client and their offerings to developers to lure them back in.
Same will happen to iOS / App Store.
I heavily disagree here. Apple always offered reasonably premium pricing, that's how they amassed such a huge marketshare. I genuinely can't find a single overpriced product in Apple's lineup, especially if we consider discounts at retailers like B&H. Except for the higher-specced Macs.
Charging $300 more for a couple of CPU and GPU cores on M3 Max is reasonable, because it's an unique custom solution which probably costs them a lot to produce (including both engineering and fabrication at TSMC). Charging $200 for +512gb is dumb, because people see how much this amount of fast Gen 4 storage costs in retail (~$160 for 2 TB before discounts).
And people do run away. My MBP 14 has 32gb/512gb, and I would like to have both more storage and memory. I have to sell the machine because it can't be upgraded and buy another one. Why don't I try Dell XPS instead? I'm genuinely thinking about that, at least as an experiment.
I believe that modern Windows and Android is quite secure, simply because they had to be. Monthly updates with security fixes, built-in AV software that's genuinely good, things like Windows Sandbox. Apple has to catch up on this front, because opening up to third-party stores & unverified apps is inevitable anyway.
All companies are bullies and territorial. If you believe apple is a bully dont buy their products. There are hundreds of models to choose from. For a company their size they actually have not had many judgements against them. And hence it’s my opinion this bad legislation, which of course apple has to comply with, was created for them. The legislation seems To have the status with some as a cult movie.
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I’m all for open markets, but one that is not made by taking one company and turning it into a public utility.
I don't have to. I can count on the EU to stop behaviour that reaches too far into what is considered here to be owned. I will enjoy every action along the way that makes Apple give me more control over what I own.
Let me rephrase that: People have been complaining that Macs are overpriced, for decades. I don't see the current pricing as a major departure of how Macs have been priced historically. If anything, the main difference is that you have less/no options for going third party on i.e. ram, but I don't think a majority of customers ever did that anyway. Keep in mind that forum users are generally biased, and think they represent a majority of the users... (they don't).
I am actually specifically arguing that Apple's prices are NOT overpriced. High, but not overpriced. As long as people buy more of them than ever before, they are priced right. Regardless of cost. That's how capitalism works.
That's the aforementioned bias talking. "People" do NOT run away. SOME people run away. But Apple's market share in the PC market is going up.
I'll admit that I no longer manage my own Windows PC (I have a Mac privately and a corporate Windows PC), but I'm not convinced that there is any catching-up to do here. But I'm happy to be educated. By someone who uses both - I have plenty of people in my IT department that tries to "educate" me on how much better Windows is, even though they are completely clueless on how Macs work (and I am by no means an expert on that, but when an IT manager tells me that "you can't run VMs on Macs", I stop listening).
Complaining implies that people's criticism is unwarranted. There is zero evidence that suggests that it is not overpriced.
1) Why would you think that? Apple removed the option so we have zero data.
2) Which majority of forum members claims they speak for the masses? Where is this majority and how do you process the count to come to this conclusion?
Now let us elaborate. What criteria has to be met in Apple's case to define high vs overpriced? If I reduce the offerings to 1 and charge any price for it and people buy it, it is still not overpriced? Because that would achieve the very basic principles of offerings and demand.
I wouldn't stop listening but I see it the same. But I have the same stance towards evangelists of both platforms. I don't participate in the PC guy vs Mac drama.
If an IT manager tells you that, sounds like you need a new IT manager.
TBF I had similar IT managers to deal with, and there is little to do against it. But it's also not my job to QA the hiring.
You can do anything to want to things you own. You can’t modify your street legal cars engine so the emissions fail testing as one example. So stop saying you can do anything to anything you own, it’s blatantly false.
Umm legally you can. The only limitations on the emission part is no longer street legal. It is still fully legal to use on the track or personal property. Just can not be driving on a public road.
Public roads are where those restrictions come in play.
I can if my government says it's my right. Doesn't matter what any other government says or the seller.
Btw, in Germany you're not allowed to drive your vehicle without TÜV certification. Unsurprisingly, that certification is not granted from the seller but from a third party audit.
What Apple says doesn't matter much since they cannot be impartial about themselves obviously. What industry audits say matter.
Apple is caught up in many anti-trust proccesses around the world and some have fined or ordered them to change their behaviour while they are a guest in their country. They're like a drunk party group harrassing people whereever they go, but some people still applaud them like Andrew Tate's loyal fanbase because they like their style. Unconditional love in the truest sense of unconditional.
In 2019 or 2020 I believe it was, all AAPL investors got the regular shareholder vote mail with the recommendations expressed by Apple, and there was one question where Apple recommended us to vote no, and it was raising the issue of freedom of speech transparency reports. Yeah, Apple simply didn't want to disclose how many apps the CCP wanted Apple to take down. The vote did not hinder Apple in its actions but it hit a 40% opposition which is a damn lot even for shareholders.
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Sure government won. But that doesn’t mean your comments hold any water. You still can’t do what you want with things you own.