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I don't consider Android an alternative.

Giant Corp A or Giant Corp B. Duopolies are barely better than monopilies.
That my friend is your alternative, like it or not. Apple at least in the US continues to have iron clad control over the App Store.
 
If you want to be stuck in a censored app store, that's fine. Just give the rest of us choice. Apple isn't going to let you vibe code, they aren't going to let you skip ads, they aren't going to let you track ICE, etc. etc. But if developers are making apps they don't want in their app store, there should be an alternative.

It's called the web.
 
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For now. There is still a pending antitrust case in the US that might bring alternative app stores to the US.
Right. If and when that happens
Probably will not be for years. So for now the choice is a phone running the android operating system.
 
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The alternative is android. That is the alternative. Maybe Linux. People rail against Apple for having deceitful apps in the App Store, but sketchy apps are okay. (Yes that is a strawman)
“I refuse to accept any alternative as an alternative even if it means that alternative offers the features I prefer!”

This is a strange problem Apple has had historically. People that want features Apple doesn’t offer, buying Apple products anyway, then complaining that the company they rewarded by buying what they’re making is continuing to make products that don’t have the features they want. Like, that feature is obviously not important to them… they ALREADY bought from them once!
 
Any 'just use the web' arguments are completely erroneous for iOS.

Apple still insists on their webkit engine outside the EU, that restriction exists to limit what apps can be run in the browser and ensure devs can't build web apps that are able to bypass the App Store.
 
I don't consider Android an alternative. Giant Corp A or Giant Corp B. Duopolies are barely better than monopolies.

I just prefer to be able to use my hardware as I please, without interference or walls.
There’s hardware made by much smaller corps (Fairphone, Volla Phone, PinePhone), AND if REALLY don’t want to be tied down by interference/limitations of anyone else’s OS you can write your own OS and apps for them! Sure, they won’t be anywhere near as easy to use as what Giant Corp A or B is doing, but if your main preference is being able to use YOUR hardware with YOUR OS and YOUR apps as you please without interference, there’s no better way!
 
Any 'just use the web' arguments are completely erroneous for iOS.

Apple still insists on their webkit engine outside the EU, that restriction exists to limit what apps can be run in the browser and ensure devs can't build web apps that are able to bypass the App Store.

You're always limit by the browser if you create a web app or a web site.
What changes is which companies sets the boundaries.
 
Important to note this also applies to Windows. You can build your own PC but any software you run on it is licensed.
It does not, not at all. You build a PC, and even if you install Windows on it, Microsoft doesn't have the ability to dictate what software you are able to run on it. Here, not only has Apple decided they don't like it, but they are able to forcibly block software that was paid for in a store not run by them.

It's like Ford stopping me from using an F-150 to buy Mainstays brand furniture from Walmart because Ford doesn't want their truck associated with cheap furniture. It's absolutely insane.
 
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“I refuse to accept any alternative as an alternative even if it means that alternative offers the features I prefer!”

This is a strange problem Apple has had historically. People that want features Apple doesn’t offer, buying Apple products anyway, then complaining that the company they rewarded by buying what they’re making is continuing to make products that don’t have the features they want. Like, that feature is obviously not important to them… they ALREADY bought from them once!
Because where historically Microsoft and Linux has left Windows wide open for others to implement these features, Apple has historically gone out of their way to prevent people doing what they want. You might say it's people buying Apple products despite Apple policies, not because of it.
 
My opinion?
F Sony Music, F UMG, F all of these stupid music publishers monopolies that don’t give a 💩 about musicians they have signed or own rights for. And also F Apple for this stupid stance. If I want to pirate, no one will stop me.

Hopefully these days you don’t need to traumatize yourself with poor YouTube music quality and there are so many free online sites that let you “convert” music from Spotify in original quality, and thanks to more storage you can practically pay 0 cents to Sony, Spotify or whoever else and have all your music library conveniently stored in Files app.

For those who still wanna stream from YouTube there is a hack: delete the app, open video in browser, then play, then lock and then play again from control center.

I’m all hands for supporting musicians BUT many people don’t realize that piracy has always been one of the best ways to support careers of many musicians. Even back in the days of physical media like vinyl and tapes people had pirated a lot. It all ended in more concert tickets sold, free PR from fans and even better music literacy among people around the globe. Many musicians these days simply upload their stuff for free on SoundCloud, others get free remixes and “slowed” versions to bypass anti-piracy protections of some online platforms
 
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If you want to be stuck in a censored app store, that's fine. Just give the rest of us choice. Apple isn't going to let you vibe code, they aren't going to let you skip ads, they aren't going to let you track ICE, etc. etc. But if developers are making apps they don't want in their app store, there should be an alternative.

It's called the web.

It sure is. Jobs asserted this 16 years ago, and Apple has stood by it with enthusiasm. The Web is not as full-featured as native apps for iPhones, but it's still quite robustly featured, and if the question is simply whether it qualifies as an "alternative" for offering apps that skip ads, share safety information, and so on? It's more than adequate. Apple has traditionally been neither morally or legally obligated to do any of that, but they evidently believe in it.

The web is a poor substitute for running things fully local.

..but then I'm trying to take more and more of my life off-line.

Web apps are allowed to cache all of their resources locally and run offline. (Go build one!)

The crippled webkit version Apple insists on.

Any 'just use the web' arguments are completely erroneous for iOS.

Apple still insists on their webkit engine outside the EU, that restriction exists to limit what apps can be run in the browser and ensure devs can't build web apps that are able to bypass the App Store.

Again – more than adequate for plenty, and who knows when mobile Web apps would ever have come to exist, if ever, if Apple's team hadn't originally enabled them. If you personally deem that insufficient – even within the EU, whose regularly-revised requirements Apple continues to meet – other mobile platforms exist.
 
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Again – more than adequate for plenty, and who knows when mobile Web apps would ever have come to exist, if ever, if Apple's team hadn't originally enabled them. If you personally deem that insufficient – even within the EU, whose regularly-revised requirements Apple continues to meet – other mobile platforms exist.

I'll wait for regulators to pull the business model to pieces instead. 👍
 
Yet on Android you have ReVanced, Tubular, Morphe, etc. Apple can remove any app they want, but they need to provide alternative app stores for those that want this kind of content.
Most of those are directly downloaded and "sideloaded," or are available through F-Droid. It's been great. But guess what? That's going away soon, or is going to become significantly more of a pain to do (people will need to connect their devices to laptops or desktops, enable dev options, and push with adb...).
 
It does not, not at all. You build a PC, and even if you install Windows on it, Microsoft doesn't have the ability to dictate what software you are able to run on it. Here, not only has Apple decided they don't like it, but they are able to forcibly block software that was paid for in a store not run by them.

It's like Ford stopping me from using an F-150 to buy Mainstays brand furniture from Walmart because Ford doesn't want their truck associated with cheap furniture. It's absolutely insane.
And, if that’s something they wanted to do, Ford could most certainly could have that applied that to every sale, every lease. And, I’d be willing to bet that people would still buy Fords understanding this and complain about why they can’t use their Ford however they wanted to!

In every case, the best way to indicate to a company that they’re making a product or providing a service you don’t like is to not buy that product, not use that service. The company finds they can’t sell enough to stay in business, they go bankrupt and they’re gone. Simple!
 
Most of those are directly downloaded and "sideloaded," or are available through F-Droid. It's been great. But guess what? That's going away soon, or is going to become significantly more of a pain to do (people will need to connect their devices to laptops or desktops, enable dev options, and push with adb...).
Google has not clearly defined their position yet and I think it’s because it’s more “going away” than “becoming significantly harder”. They’re just waiting for more government action so they can say they were forced and save some face. Since they have a profit sharing agreement with every OEM, they can simply say “You get a few percent more if you take efforts to ensure that EVERY phone you sell comes with Google services”. Bootloaders would be locked quicker than you could say “cha-ching”! With that, plus the EU requiring bootloaders to be locked, those members of the market are going to bite their tongues and still use Android or get something else.
 
Because where historically Microsoft and Linux has left Windows wide open for others to implement these features, Apple has historically gone out of their way to prevent people doing what they want. You might say it's people buying Apple products despite Apple policies, not because of it.
People all over the world make poor decisions every day! This is just another case of that. 🙂
 
Celebrating 50 years of Thinking Different with another round of monopoly collusion!

That said don't appoint Winston & Strawman to represent you in court..
Monopoly? Apple Music is the only legally available music streaming service on Apple devices? Oh no, I was paying Youtube Music for nothing all the time???
 
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