Your second sentence (in bold) is all conjecture and hypothesizing
You're also completely ignoring how much 3rd party Apps DRIVE iPhone sales
No 3rd party Apps? .... I got news for ya ... iPhone becomes a nothing burger
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Epic Games Accuses Apple of Charging 'Unjustified Fees' for Required Non-App Store Purchase Link
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Your second sentence (in bold) is all conjecture and hypothesizing
You're also completely ignoring how much 3rd party Apps DRIVE iPhone sales
No 3rd party Apps? .... I got news for ya ... iPhone becomes a nothing burger
Becuase Apple is hosting everything else. I think I would take the following postion if I were Apple. Cut Epic and others like Spotify off from all developer support. No further access to updated API's, no consulting with Apple and a charge for server time based on the # of times an Epic request hits the server (sorry, Im not an IT guy so the terms are probably incorrect). If Epic doesn't want to pay anything, then they don't get to access anything that is helping them off of Apple's back.
Maybe I'm completely off on my assumptions, but you don't get a free ride.
I like Apple kit i have brought tones of it over the years. but i am sick of all the walls and roadblocks Apple puts up for no good reason than profit!. This particular one i say go Epic shame your left to do it alone you should have a fleet of other software developers behind your but there all jelly fish no backbone.
They won't be hosting anything in a direct sales situation
Of course. And that fee is collected when developers join Apple's Developer Program.
Join the Apple Developer Program to reach customers around the world on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Membership includes all the tools, resources, and support you need to develop and distribute apps, including access to beta software, app services, testing tools, app analytics, and more.
What products and services from Apple is Epic using that the Apple Developer Program fee doesn't cover?
The payment processing? Nope. Game server and other hosting costs? Nope.
What is there?
Yes, but just because an agreement has been signed doesn't mean it's legal.
Take non-compete agreements as an example.
Tim Sweeney owns Epic. Apple can’t just buy it. Why has this to be explained in each single thread about Epic?
You know they are trying to sell iPhones right?
The more things you "cut off" ... the less appealing an iPhone comes
That's why it's so offensive to see the disregard with which Apple treats 3rd party developers
Third party Apps are a massive piece of why people use iPhones
It's a much more symbiotic relationship than Apple cares to admit
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Have you heard of a concept called a win-win? Sometimes you can make decisions that benefit multiple parties.
With what Apple had built:
- Users got an ecosystem that they can depend on.
- Apple share holders got to make money.
- Apple employees got to build the greatest multi platform ecosystem ever built.
- Developers got everything from a stable platform, an evolving programming language, dev tools, SDKs, training videos and Apple Engineer’s time, for free.
- Startups got off the ground much faster at a much lower cost. They could also easily focus on a high quality customers base, simply by releasing a quality app on the Apple App Store. The entire modern startup ecosystem is based on this.
- Lawyers
- YouTubers looking for views and content
- Journalists who want their content to go viral
- Companies who want to get a free ride along the way
- Companies who want to gain publicity by marketing an “Apple Vs Us” narrative
- Politicians who want a socialist/anti-capitalist narrative.
- Apple haters who want an Anti-Apple narrative.
Does Apple engage in anything else that can be classified as Anti-Competitive practices? Yes they do.
- Notice how much more easier it is to pair AirPods than other headsets. And you can control AirPods from the control centre.
- NFC supports only Apple Pay.
- The U1 chip only works with Air-Tags.
But that standard must be equal to all. From cheap phones to expense phones. Saying someone can’t make anything better than what the lowest priced product could provide, is anywhere from stupid to dangerously anti-free market. And asking for Apple’s proprietary tech, like the U1 chip for free, is extortion.
You mean MacRumors.
I think that they have overdone it.
Apple, however , deserves to be paid for using its App Store, and not just the developer fee; or tier the developer fee so big sellers pay more. EPIC won't be happy until Apple hosts them for free while they make money off of their games.
Epic stop being childish! Create your own ecosystem and take profit, period!
I'm sure Sweeney could be persuaded to sell if enough cash were shovelled his way.
And no iPhones and many developers would make a lot less as well; it's a symbiotic relationship.
Not really. I'm not looking forward to having every developer build their own store, maintain their own T&Cs, have their own privacy policies, suffer their own breaches, and fill my phone and take my bandwidth with a needless app (a "store") just to provide me the app I wanted just so I can pay for parking or laundry or some other thing. Microsoft Store, Epic Store, Adobe Store, Zynga Store, King Store, all sharing your email address/data and spamming the hell out of you/compromsing your data and some of it will be absolutely unavoidable.
Epic doesn’t want Apple to do any hosting for them. But Apple is forcing app developers to go through their infrastructure, despite there being no technical necessity.
That aside, the cost of hosting is completely unrelated to app revenue. Apple could charge a flat hosting fee if they wanted to.
Gotta give them credit for their endurance 😅
I honestly don’t understand why Apple isn’t just increasing the developer fee anyway. Even a Big Mac has nearly doubled at this point yet the developer fee remained the same for all these years
I honestly don’t understand why Apple isn’t just increasing the developer fee anyway. Even a Big Mac has nearly doubled at this point yet the developer fee remained the same for all these years
If Epic doesn't like Apple's game store teams, they can leave Apple and start their own cell phone and sell directly to gamers, or partner up with someone else. There are other ways for them to reach gamers besides iOS and the App Store.
Tell me why your assertion about a theoretical developer leaving epic is any different than epic leaving apple?
I don’t think so, he is an idealist.
But they may not even want to be hosted by Apple? It’s on Apple not wanting to give up the control yet demanding to be paid for something developers may not even want / require?
I guess what they all truly want is to be able to built their own apps without Xcode and hosting the file for direct download on their own web page / platform
I don’t care either way btw I don’t even remember the last time I installed a new app
Isn't Epic Games charging people who don't make games even up to $2000 per user for their Unreal Engine? Why not give it out for free like what Epic Games demands from Apple?
Well, the developer fee is the only way that Apple is getting paid from the likes of Target, Walmart, Starbucks, McDonald's, etc. Unless Apple's getting a cut of their sales I'm not aware of.
Apple benefits from them in other ways beside the developer fee. For one, it allows Apple to continue selling iPhones because if these apps weren't available anymore, a lot of people would move to Android. Secondly, Apple benefits by selling ads. Take the Lowes ad placed right above my search for the Target app.
These and other ads bring in billions for Apple every year.
Apple Advertising Business Is Underappreciated, Analyst Says
Apple has opportunities to increase its advertising sales business, a Wall Street analyst says. And that business could boost Apple stock.
www.investors.com
"We believe Apple advertising on its own apps is underappreciated," Barclays analyst Tim Long said in a note to clients Tuesday. "Most ad revenues are generated on the App Store, with some contribution from News and Stocks. This could expand to other apps like Maps, TV+, Podcasts, etc."
Long estimates that Apple generated $5.3 billion in advertising sales in 2022. He predicted that ad sales will rise 42% in 2023 to $7.5 billion. And he sees Apple's global ad revenue hitting $19 billion by 2026.
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It is tied to the number of apps sold.
The exact same approach almost every library including Epic uses.
And Epic thinks it’s entitled to charge developers to use its Unreal engine if they do so for profit. How is that different than Apple wanting to be paid for the exact same kind of work maintaining iOS, developer tools, documenting SDK’s, and providing developer support?
Until Epic starts giving away the Unreal engine to all companies, large and small, like they expect Apple to give away access to iOS, they’re always going to have a weak argument from my perspective.
Epic wants Apple to give away its technology for free and access to Apple’s customers to anyone who asks. Epic won’t even give away its own technology for free to anyone.
Actually, yes, and they don’t take any cut of those payments.