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Apple to Collect 27% Commission on Third-Party App Payment Systems in the Netherlands
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It’s not free, it costs $100 per year to be an Apple developer.
It seems to me that Apple is doing the bare minimum to comply with the ACM's ruling.
I am eagerly awaiting the ACM's response.
I am eagerly awaiting the ACM's response.
Really? Who says that? I've not read one person say it should be free but lots of people say 30% is too much. Does your brain think if you complain something costs too much then it should be free? There's nothing in between?
What rock have you been living under? Smartphones are by far the most ubiquitous computing devices and are an integral part of life in virtually every developed country.
At the moment it's $100 per year AND commission on digital goods sold within iOS apps. If the commission is reduced, or goes entirely, the $100 per year will have to go up to compensate for the lost revenue.
I guess technically they are introducing developers to customers as the only way to download an app is via their App Store. But I honestly can’t think of the last app I downloaded because Apple introduced me to it. I think the notion that Apple is responsible for all 3rd party apps customer acquisition and therefore deserve a cut of their sales is debatable.
Correct, but apps are not necessary. All smartphones have access to the internet.
They aren't responsible for all 3rd party app customer acquisitions, but they are responsible for all 3rd party customer acquisitions on iOS.
Oh boy, still 27%, this will not land well with anti-monopolists and legislators
Hey, Apple’s lawyers work hard for their 27% cut. Lawyers are expensive!
They are? It is well known that iOS apps that don't sell digital content within them pay no commission. Apple's own developer agreement states this.
Back in 2008 Steve Jobs said Apple had no plans for the App Store to be a profit center. It existed to sell iPhones and they’d treat it as a break-even business. That’s clearly not the case now. The App Store now is big business expected to generate the bulk of Apple’s ’services’ revenues.
Until the law says apps are necessary and are a regulated market, they are not necessary and are not regulated.
Smartphones are useful precisely because of apps. You’re obviously arguing in bad faith.
If I download a game on my iPhone because I saw an ad for it on Instagram (or inside another game app) how is Apple responsible for that customer acquisition? Just because the app is on iOS?
Absolutely, it's proven to be a wildly successful business beyond Apple's expectations. Imagine if developers hadn't asked for an App Store and we all used web apps instead as per the original iPhone! Apple would have missed out on this gold mine.
Because you've gone to the iOS App Store to obtain the game. If you went to the developers website and played the game there, and purchased content on their website for the game, Apple wouldn't be entitled to a cut at that point.
Problem is, I can’t download iOS apps from any other source than the App Store.
That's of course what they were actually fighting for, which makes this a nice troll by Apple. In the end it will likely be an unsustainable troll though. Apple should just give in and lower fees across the board to show good intent. Maybe that will take off regulatory scrutiny and ultimately lead to a better outcome.
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Correct. And that's only a problem if Apple hold a monopoly position on the sale of 'digital goods', which they don't, hence the way Apple currently operates is legal.
If you don't like that you can purchase a smartphone from another vendor who's policies you do agree with.