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Apple Pauses Gambling Ads in App Store Pages After Developers Complain [Updated]
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The big problem with Apple as of late is how they seem to have lost track of what made them so successful, to begin with. Their focus on "users first" seems to be dwindling. Now it has become all about that race to the bottom, revenue and appeasing investors first, the user experience second. The increase of terrible ads in the Apple App Store etc. is a good example of this. Its only purpose is to add to their revenue, it doesn't do anything other than lower the overall user experience to have ads showing everywhere. Apple is trying to have their cake and eat it too by asking for premium prices from customers, while also starting to dwindle into all kinds of other revenue streams you expect to not have to be annoyed by when paying for premium devices and ecosystems.
This is capitalism at its finest. Even when you are the most successful company in the world drowning in revenue, you are still expected to have this ever-increasing growth year-over-year. You are bound to hit the wall at some point.
This is capitalism at its finest. Even when you are the most successful company in the world drowning in revenue, you are still expected to have this ever-increasing growth year-over-year. You are bound to hit the wall at some point.
So you only want WalMart because whats the point? Don’t understand you. Do you even understand how open markets function?
To be fair to Apple, there are a lot of arguments to be made as to why allowing third-party app stores will be a bad thing for customers. But Apple is for sure pulling the rug from under their feet by doing stuff like this. They are just putting gasoline directly on to the fire by being the sole seller of iAds on the App Store and doubling down on the number of ads being shown and seemingly have no care what kind of ads are being served.
The second regulators demand Apple allow for third-party app store the floodgates will open. Suddenly users are forced into using X-amount of different app stores with varying degrees of safety measures and quality. Do you want to download Office 365 apps? Head on over to the Microsoft Store app. Do you want Google apps? Head over to the Google Play Store app. Is your app out-of-date or not working? Don't complain to Apple, you have to try figuring out how to get in contact with what ever support is being offered via whatever app store you are getting this specific app from.
New APIs and features you say? Apple can no longer enforce developers to stay on top of their game and stay compliant with the latest and greatest APIs and features as developers can just have their out-of-date app available via another store instead.
But Apple is clearly incapable of not abusing its power to its own benefit anymore. Thus we need more competition on the platform to make sure Apple doesn't go all crazy on us. They are one of the most successful companies in the world, swimming in money and revenue. Still, they somehow feel they have to take measures like these to add some more revenue on top of that already huge pile of revenue. They claim to be users first, but what possible argument can be made for this change to iAds on the App Store is benefitting customers?
The introduction of ads by Apple was a weak move.
Unless I am incorrect, it is also illegal to promote or facilitate the promotion of "gambling" in certain countries..
Unless I am incorrect, it is also illegal to promote or facilitate the promotion of "gambling" in certain countries..
Private companies' only goal is to generate profits. It's nice when they claim to have principles and strive for ideals, but just remember that, at the end of the day, the only thing that can change their behaviours is money.
The only reason Apple isn't as scummy as Google or Meta when it comes to privacy is they still generate most of their profits from hardware. Even their services are more or less tied to the devices they sell. In other words, they can afford to make privacy a selling point because selling your data isn't their business model, yet.
They might have to start selling our data though, or at least, start to make data monetization part of their business model. Apple's image as an innovator has been in decline for years. They haven't come up with anything paradigm-shifting since Cook took over and now iPhone sales are stagnating. They have milked all they could of Jobs, the progenitor of Apple Silicon and the iPhone. Gone is "It Just Works" and the simplicity and elegance of their products. Now it just feels like Apple is selling its soul.
You can tell that Apple is getting desperate. That's why Cook doesn't want to budge on the 30% tax unless he really has to. He has failed to deliver on Apple Car and Apple Glasses thus far. It also looks increasingly likely that Apple will miss the metaverse train. Apple Arcade is an abject failure as a gaming platform and it's the same boring iPhone year after year. This is not to mention the quality of their software has gone down precipitously. It's almost disturbing watching Craig Federighi and Greg “Joz” Joswiak congratulate themselves during the WSJ interview. They seem to have no idea that Apple is turning into yet another boring, scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel tech company.
Same here. I used to not mind paying more for Apple products because you were paying a premium for the experience. No sketchy apps looking to rip you off, "it just works," "Think different."
Now every decision seems to be motivated by either finding out how to bleed customers just a bit more dry, how they can make more friction to keep current users locked in to "The Ecosystem"
The premium now is just you paying for the sizzle. The steak is just an ordinary, over-priced steak.
Is gambling illegal in the jurisdictions where those ads appear? If not then I’m a bit confused what the issue is here exactly. Wouldn’t it be discriminatory to not allow gambling apps advertise?
It's just like Amazon's search listing for anything you look for. Half the time it's a sponsored link of something tangentially related an every (feels like) 6th row item is another sponsored item. It doesn't get you what you want. Thankfully I'm not someone who needs to look for apps often but this is a big turn off for me. However I know the grass isn't greener on the other side.
It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong, it’s about the optics. Long gone are the days when things were judged on being right or wrong, it’s now all about perception, and that perception can change with the wind.
Facts and reality no longer really matter in modern media, whose business model is based on engagement.
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But they sure tried to get away with it didn't they. I think we are at the beginning of the downfall of this corporate tech giant. The sneaky greedy behaviours are adding up. People are taking notice. Suddenly did a 180 turn on their stance toward ads, sneaky ipad price increases and deliberate dumbing down of the 2022 ipads. They're hurting their own reputation and in time will have to face the consequences
Agreed… accept the part about shareholders. Apple doesn’t try to please anyone. under Jobs, for the most part, this was good. He basically used himself as a barometer for products and services. The shareholders were happy with Apple's growth and performance. It is more and more clear to me that Apple, under his shadow, operates much the same way with nowhere the same sensibility. Ads in App Store,ads in Maps, etc., are just like foldable devices… Current Apple sees these things in the marketplace and believes they can adopt them and make them better with little regard for whether ther are good ideas or not. I’ll admit I am being too broadly critical here, but I do find Apple to be less and less innovative and inspirational in their decisions and more like everyone else. Could current Apple even conceive of a “Think Different” campaign, much less honestly proclaim it?
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Finally a sensible comment. Someone who understands. Media/internet has changed humanity in the past 10 years moreso than thousands of years of civilisation. We are living in the biggest propaganda age there has ever been. They can change public opinion on anything they want.
I didn’t see this coming…
Call me Nostradamus!
Call me Nostradamus!
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Advertising giants like google and Facebook have truly ruined the world. Worst things to have ever happened to humanity, just about on par with religion.
Apple has so much money they could afford to build their own army. Seriously, they're already the richest company in the world and now they need MORE money? What's their long term plan here? They don't make enough that now they need to pervert the app store with ads? Sooner or later the government will have to step in and pass a law over the size a corporation is allowed to reach. Apple will just bypass that by creating a new brand but still feeding the same mother ship. Humanity has never experienced anything like this before. The first time is always when the most danger happens. They are getting TOO big and the greed is out of control.
The sad thing is, this forum would most likely just encourage Apple to pull out from every country that bans promoting gambling.
No one suspects them of being the true spies that they are. They literally wouldn't be able to be as big as they are if they weren't spying on all of humanity. Listening to us talk, watching us shop online, and getting ever more clever at figuring out how to make us buy things. When people like Snowden come out and try to tell us the truth, no one listens. It's too big of a truth to bear so people just go into denial and ignore.
To be fair to Timothy Cook, I have a really hard time believing he can do much if anything about this. And I'm not entirely sure Steve Jobs would be able to either. This is the problem with growing into a massive company as Apple has over the years. It's much easier to stay on top of things and be in control when you have a smaller and tighter company at hand.
Even if Tim Cook was the purest being on earth, not wanting users to deal with ads, wanting to push privacy above anything else and whatnot. I'm pretty sure he would not be able to do so after Apple became the behemoth they are today. There is too much money involved, and as per usual money and capitalism corrupt. The bigger you get, the more you are going to be steered and controlled by revenue. Doesn't matter what Apple's Chief Executives believe or want, if there is easy money to be made you are going to tap into that revenue stream or someone will find a way for you to no longer be a chief executive for much longer.
I don't think Craig Federighi has suddenly become worse at his job either. The declining quality control of Apple's software is more likely to be a result of every team becoming bigger. Craig is most likely spending far less time on actual development and a lot more time on management and even though bigger teams will allow for greater things in terms of how much they can take on and do at once, ensuring that everyone doesn't make mistakes and keep the quality under control becomes increasingly difficult.
Anyone that has worked in a business that has gone true massive growth knows this to be true. Apple seems to be no exception to this.
Even if Tim Cook was the purest being on earth, not wanting users to deal with ads, wanting to push privacy above anything else and whatnot. I'm pretty sure he would not be able to do so after Apple became the behemoth they are today. There is too much money involved, and as per usual money and capitalism corrupt. The bigger you get, the more you are going to be steered and controlled by revenue. Doesn't matter what Apple's Chief Executives believe or want, if there is easy money to be made you are going to tap into that revenue stream or someone will find a way for you to no longer be a chief executive for much longer.
I don't think Craig Federighi has suddenly become worse at his job either. The declining quality control of Apple's software is more likely to be a result of every team becoming bigger. Craig is most likely spending far less time on actual development and a lot more time on management and even though bigger teams will allow for greater things in terms of how much they can take on and do at once, ensuring that everyone doesn't make mistakes and keep the quality under control becomes increasingly difficult.
Anyone that has worked in a business that has gone true massive growth knows this to be true. Apple seems to be no exception to this.
Apple while you are working out a way to turn off out of app ads. Please provide me a way to hide all apps with in-app ads. Go download a random game and see what you get and if that is an acceptable user experience for a kid. I will give credit that games under arcade are an improvement over the tsunami of ad apps posing as games.
The point is, the gambling ads are likely appearing in countries where it is legal to do so, and are likely only being shown to adults, but as I said in a post above it’s irrelevant these days whether that is lawful or not as it’s only the WAY it looks that is important, not the facts.