Amazon is an interesting case, though. As a major Apple retailer, they have some clout to force changes to Apple policies others can’t. (EG. “We’ll keep on selling counterfeits if you don’t give us this discount.” Not the way it actually happened, for sure, but I’m sure that was an issue during whatever negotiations happened for this.)Amazon does though.
Amazon Prime Video now allows in-app rentals and purchases on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
Amazon doesn’t appear to be raising prices either.www.theverge.com
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Epic Games 'Spent Months' Preparing Lawsuit Against Apple, Codenamed 'Project Liberty'
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This. 100 times this.
And the not so savvy users who will try those poor quality, and poor security, apps and then blame Apple for the poor experience they end up having.
Apple has laid out the way it's phones can be used with its OS. No one forces you to buy one, but if you did it is because you like what pple offers. If you don't like Apple's choices you can use another phone. Apple, nor any other company, has to change its model if it works for them.
Amazon does though.
Amazon Prime Video now allows in-app rentals and purchases on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
Amazon doesn’t appear to be raising prices either.
According to the article it is not clear if Apple gets a cut or not; though I would not be surprised if tehy made a special deal.
Oh no they absolutely have a deal, the article is a bit older and I wasn't sure which one to link. Lots and lots of reporting on this.
I wonder why Amazon wants to be able to offer in-app subscriptions so badly that they’ll negotiate a special fee for just themselves for Amazon Prime Video. Of course, users are more likely to subscribe or buy if the option is available in app, but are they so much more likely to subscribe that it justifies a 15% cut for Apple and the hassle of negotiating this? I’ve noticed that Pandora offers in-app subscriptions. I suspect that Pandora has found that its iTunes subscriptions are probably lucrative enough that they prefer Apple’s cut (even at 30% for the first year) to pushing subscriptions through their own legacy subscription service (despite it pre-dating the iPhone).
it’s possible to not like apple’s choices and like their devices/software more regardless. you make it sound like there are a variety of choices of phone platforms out there.
i’ve never enjoyed my iphone more than times where it’s been jailbroken. have jailbroken devices caused a nightmare for apple support? if they see a phone is jailbroken, they won’t support it. this wouldn’t even hold a candle to the minimal damage that opening up beyond sideloading would cause.
The free market can currently choose the Single App Store of the iOS ecosystem or the more open Android compatibles. There’s great choices out there. What you are arguing for is to remove my choice for an ecosystem with a single App Store. This is one of the things that differentiates Apple from it’s competitors.
I choose the iOS ecosystem exactly because of the single App Store. A single, trusted entity with my credit card details. A single point of contact for all of my subscriptions. A very narrow attack surface area for hackers and a company with the resources and motivation to keep my data safe.
I do not want to go to an epic store for their games and give them my CC details.
I do not want to go to a MS store for my Office software and then give them my CC details.
I do not want to go to an Adobe Store and give them my CC details.
I do not want an Affinity store and give them my details.
I do not want an Activision store and give them my details.
I do not want an EA store and give them my details.
Etc, etc, etc.
You say that I could continue to use the Apple App Store and nothing would change for me but you fail to consider that these companies will not be releasing their app on the Apple Store when they have their own stores.
It will turn into the Wild West of poor user experience and large attack surface area for hackers. I would then have to change my CC/ personal details with every store for any change in my circumstances. There will be multiple privacy policies etc etc. This is exactly the problem that iOS fixes and just because it has always been different on desktop, doesn’t mean we should embrace the suck on mobile.
NO THANK YOU!
So in arguing that Apple should allow other App stores to increase user choice, you actually end up reducing user choice. I, and all the other users like me, will no longer have the option to choose an integrated experience.
Really an article from Sept 2019? But regardless, my sentiment is with the quoted poster.
Yes a whole year ago *gasp*
Was that the best argument you could come up with by the way?
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It's more like going on two years.
However, if the low bar of "trusting" anything is whether or not there was ever a past bug, might as well keep your money in the mattress.
And yeah a two year old article to disprove a point...
Lol! That’s the best you can do? And that invalidates my point against a single entity vs multiple attack vectors, each with varying levels of security and differing privacy policies? hahahahaha 😂😂
The point is most people don't care, most people don't need Apple to hold their hand with every transaction they make online, the 'privacy and security' justification for Apple App Store policies doesn't hold any water.
Scam apps galore on the App store but you keep safe in your ivory tower. Make sure you don't give any horrid scammers like erm.. Adobe or Microsoft your card details..
The point is most people don't care, most people don't need Apple to hold their hand with every transaction they make online, the 'privacy and security' justification for Apple App Store policies doesn't hold any water.
Scam apps galore on the App store but you keep safe in your ivory tower. Make sure you don't give any horrid scammers like erm.. Adobe or Microsoft your card details..
MS and Adobe don’t need to be scammers in order to sell my private data to advertising agencies. They don’t need to be scammers for them to be hacked and my details stolen. Yes, this can also happen to Apple but the more companies that have your details, the greater the attack surface area and not all companies have the same budget, or desire to keep your data safe.
For example, if I wanted to buy the Crossy Road game, I may potentially have to go to the “Hipster Whale” App Store. Register my contact and credit card details, then download the game of my choosing. Given this is an independent App Store, they will have their own privacy policies. Their security budget and expertise could be to a lower standard than Apple’s or Microsoft’s. If they get compromised, I now have the inconvenience of contacting every single App Store where I’ve purchased software and changing my details. Get a new credit card due to it expiring….same inconvenience. Move house….same inconvenience. Want software from a different company?…download App Store, register and give billing details before finally downloading - inconvenience!
The entire experience is a user nightmare and more akin to Android and the Windows world. People buy Apple products for the experience and you are trying to take away my choice for an integrated product….this reduces user choice, not increases it.
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You are free to do whatever you want after you buy your iPhone. What you are demanding is that Apple help you by forcing it to do things it doesn’t want to do. That’s not how it works nor is it how it should work. If you want to hack your phone, jailbreak your phone, etc so you can start side loading apps, go for it. That’s your choice. Apple doesn’t have to help you.
if you want a phone that makes that easier but an Android. That’s your choice. Use it.
You are conflating user choice with the restrictive business practices Apple imposes on developers. This suit is largely about the former rather than the latter
Epic has made it clear they are advertising this as a fight for the smaller players. Epic could also swear up and down in their PR this lawsuit was about finding a cure for cancer, but that wouldn't make it any more true.
It might, if they win, benefit small developers too, but I don't believe for a second that's why Epic is doing it, and it's the disingenuousness thatrubs me the wrong way.
And to be clear--yes, Epic will do just fine financially without iOS. They would also--demonstrably--do just fine, and likely better, with iOS and a 30% cut.
Which is different from small developers--without iOS, many of them would not be in business. Period. Clearly, with a 30% cut, most of them are staying in business, and a number are doing pretty well for themselves. They are also paying similar amounts to Google for the Play store if they use the built-in payment system, and similar amounts to Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony if they're on those platforms.
Maybe Apple isn't providing enough "bang for the buck" for the 30% cut. Maybe they are imposing unfair practices on developers that actually do rise to the level of antitrust abuse. But that's not the argument Epic is making.
👻 BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA the sideloading ghost is here to take your choices away! 😧
yeah... by requesting that one of the two choices that exists do something that allows more choice, i’m reducing your choices. i’m the problem here.
i never said i wanted alternate app stores but thanks for the novella
That's the choice you have to make when decideing what to buy: does the pluses outweight what yoiu see as cons?
There are, though most pf the choices are Android variants with a few Linux/custom OS's thrown in.
Then stick with one that is jaailbroken.
1. Yes, but am i not allowed to complain or criticize?
2. the alternate choices are android or non-choices. wow so many choices. such variety. you’re suggesting linux-based choices which are totally comparable alternatives to iOS and Android. i’m sure gonna love my raspberry piPhone since i can run anything i want! i love choice!
3. just sharing my personal experience. if i could keep my phone jailbroken through software updates, i 1000000000% would. my point is that better things are possible when more freedom is given to users. sideloading is hardly the risk you think it is. people can sideload (extremely inconveniently) right now, and even install pirated apps, yet i don’t recall ever seeing this being a detriment to the iOS ecosystem.
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it boils down to a frustration which i experience far too often:
“is there an app or tool i can use to achieve this goal?”
windows: yes
macos: yes
linux: yes
android: yes
ios: only if the delevloper registers with the ios developer program and submits apps and updates in accordance with apple’s terms and conditions, pending apple’s approval. so you might need to use any other major platform.