Facebook Criticizes Apple's App Store Policies, Launches Gaming App on iOS Without Games

[Idec50]

So, you want the government to tell of Apple to open up iOS in the name of open platform, while simultaneously wanting the government to not interfere with what goes on in an App Store?

Pretty much will not happen. Maybe you want to give examples of Chine where Apple has to play by the rules there? Is the US any better? Ban wechat, but not other games from Tencent. Ban TikTok, because god forbid, China has your data.

I understand the need for anti-trust law, but applying it to something as trivial as software? If a lifesaving drug, yes. Software?

Platforms and software have a very good way of policing itself. It’s called customer choice. Eu had at one point forced Windows to show a browser ballot, in part to help their own companies like Opera. Did it help Opera?

My argument is rather simple. Microsoft, you can’t put xCloud on iOS? Then instead of whining about it, make it indispensable on Android.

Asking government to legislate open platform is just asking a mouse to fix a pumpkin. (Local slang meaning asking a non-expert to fix something).

Users should be able to go to a Website and install software. Doesn’t even go through the App Store.

Why do you insist all software to be pre-approved by central authority?

 

[Idec50]

One can argue that Apple is protecting customers by locking down their App Store and curating the apps before they reach the customer.

And while the price for that may be that certain app categories remain inaccessible to the consumer, it may be deemed a worthwhile trade off.

Sure, other OSes like android and windows are more “open” but at what cost? Malware and piracy remains a problem, and everyone’s response to that seems to be “yeah, it sucks, live with it so you don’t impinge on my freedoms”.

I do feel that the current locked-down nature of the iOS App Store is what results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of users, and that online uproars are often a poor representation of general sentiment on the ground.

Though I will say that Apple’s problem here is not that they are not allowing said app, but that they seem to be unable to justify their stance. I am willing to give Apple the benefit of a doubt that back when this rule was first instituted, it probably made sense to them from a business and philosophical standpoint, but maybe whatever reason they had in the past are simply no longer relevant today.

We can argue whether or not it’s good for users, but a central authority approval and fee system for software is absolutely not good for the real economy and political freedom.

Apple wants to take a cut from in-app purchases. Think about that for just one millisecond. It’s ridiculous. How many apps and companies are we not even seeing because of this? Software companies have to provide products that work on apple products -> they aren’t going to have a completely different business model for other platforms. You simply refuse to see the problem.

If you don’t think Apple wants to have this same setup on macOS and eventually get rid of browsers all together, you are kidding yourself. It’s just too profitable. Should be illegally so. They cannot help themselves. Hell, they are legally bound by shareholders to pursue this.

 

[ervingv]

lol so funny how so many here rather defend Apple than have more options available on iOS with changes to the current policies. It’s ok to like a brand but come on, you would have the same experience even if the policies allowed game streaming apps.