Folks need to have a touch more "vision" here.
Just because something has "been a certain way", in no way means that's "the only way".
It doesn't even mean it's "the best way".
Apple, unfortunately, might simply need to be compelled to change at this point.
Changes to things like this aren't going to kill Apple or kill their App Store or torpedo the iPhone.
They'd love everyone to believe that -- trust me -- they'll be just fine, dandy and still UBER profitable.
For me, it’s not so much about whether Apple needs to change or not.
I am simply not convinced that these changes will ultimately benefit the end user. At least, not in a way that I find meaningful.
For one, we already have a pretty good idea of what an opened up App Store may look like in the form of the google play store. Sure, there are more flowers there (in the form of apps otherwise not available on iOS), but its formation is a mess, and the lack of a fence means any dog can simply come in and piss in it, weed to penetrate it and it just looks harder to maintain overall.
I chose iOS over android because I don’t care about the benefits that android supposedly boasts over iOS, while also appreciating the benefits a walled ecosystem does bring.
Not only will this change (likely) not give me more of what I want, but it may also saddle me with more issues that I need to contend with. More features and functionality isn’t a selling point for me here. Simplicity is.
Second, consumers are not going to get lower prices, despite whatever fortnite or developers may promise us. As such, I am just not as invested in this fight as developers. There’s simply nothing in it for me.
Meanwhile, the loss of App Store revenue may mean that Apple has less incentive to devote resources towards running the App Store, which can mean a worse experience for all users. Epic and Basecamp probably believe they are big enough that they can skip the App Store model and market directly to consumers. Ultimately, the ones losing out are the end users and the indie developers for whom the App Store remains an equalising force that allows them to compete on an equal footing with the larger companies.
As its name implies, a store can only remain profitable when it actually sells something. Imagine if anyone could simply sell anything they wanted on Amazon and not pay the parent company a cent. Why even stay in business?
Third, it’s shown that the developers don’t always have the interests of the end user at heart. This fight is solely about them and them alone. For example, many developers still refuse to implement sign-in-with-Apple, a move initiated by Apple to give users more choice and control over our privacy (gee, I wonder why).
The more I see these lawsuits play out, the more convinced I am that these developers (Epic, Spotify, Basecamp, Tile) are not seeking to empower or benefit users. They just want more money and more control than what Apple is willing to give them for their own financial gain, and they will not hesitate to burn the existing App Store model down to the ground to get what they want.
That makes them, in my eyes, the enemy. Not Apple.
Of course, living in Asia, this fight is far beyond my jurisdiction and I have more than enough real-life matters to see to. The most I can do is to gripe about it in online forums and see how it all plays out in the courts.
But I do, and always will, stand with Apple on this matter.
