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icanhazmac

Contributor
Apr 11, 2018
2,575
9,818
I'd rather they just open up the platform for everyone. It's been my wish and request since I first got an iPhone in 2008.

This is a worthless comment; if I wanted an Android, I would buy an Android. I've been an iPhone user since 2008 and have wanted them to open up their ecosystem since the beginning. It's not important to you, but it is to me and several others, so I'll keep advocating that Apple does the same elsewhere.

So you bought into an ecosystem that didn't do what you wanted and stayed with it for 16 years hoping that government overreach would get you what you wanted? An odd choice but certainly yours to make. Had you, and everyone with your viewpoint, voted with your wallets and bought Android then, IF Apple had lost sufficient market share they might have offered the flexibility you seek. My guess though, there aren't enough of you to move the needle, yet the rest of us will suffer if this overreach continues.

Buy an damn Android. At least you have somewhere to go for the freedom and functionality you want.

When/If the app store experience becomes as broken and fragmented as the PC/Mac world is those of us that appreciate the current ecosystem will have no where to go, we will be forced into the world of multiple store accounts and payment processors, which will further disseminates our personal information and makes us more vulnerable. At least we bought into this ecosystem BECAUSE of the benefits it offered and didn't wallow in one that we hoped mindless bureaucrats would eventually over-regulate into mediocrity.

It's been my wish and request that the ecosystem that I willingly bought into, fully knowing the constraints and freedoms, is left alone and not regulated into a fragmented mess by idiot bureaucrats. The one stop shop is unique and should be allowed to stand as an alternative to the wild wild west. We should not want all marketplaces to be regulated into vanilla copies, let the marketplace decide.
 

Sorinut

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2015
1,670
4,557
So you bought into an ecosystem that didn't do what you wanted and stayed with it for 16 years hoping that government overreach would get you what you wanted? An odd choice but certainly yours to make. Had you, and everyone with your viewpoint, voted with your wallets and bought Android then, IF Apple had lost sufficient market share they might have offered the flexibility you seek. My guess though, there aren't enough of you to move the needle, yet the rest of us will suffer if this overreach continues.

Buy an damn Android. At least you have somewhere to go for the freedom and functionality you want.

When/If the app store experience becomes as broken and fragmented as the PC/Mac world is those of us that appreciate the current ecosystem will have no where to go, we will be forced into the world of multiple store accounts and payment processors, which will further disseminates our personal information and makes us more vulnerable. At least we bought into this ecosystem BECAUSE of the benefits it offered and didn't wallow in one that we hoped mindless bureaucrats would eventually over-regulate into mediocrity.

It's been my wish and request that the ecosystem that I willingly bought into, fully knowing the constraints and freedoms, is left alone and not regulated into a fragmented mess by idiot bureaucrats. The one stop shop is unique and should be allowed to stand as an alternative to the wild wild west. We should not want all marketplaces to be regulated into vanilla copies, let the marketplace decide.

No, I hoped Apple would open it up voluntarily. They haven't, but I will keep advocating for them to do so.

As I said earlier, if I wanted an Android, I would buy an Android. I haven't, and I won't.
 

icanhazmac

Contributor
Apr 11, 2018
2,575
9,818
As I said earlier, if I wanted an Android, I would buy an Android. I haven't, and I won't.

Yes, you keep saying that but you clearly want what is offered inside that particular ecosystem so instead of advocating for the destruction of ours why not advocate for better Android hardware or software so that you can have your cake and eat it too, but over there?
 
Last edited:

Silly John Fatty

macrumors 68000
Nov 6, 2012
1,768
493
Apple and Microsoft are forming an Oligopoly when it comes to operating systems, this needs to find an end. Where is the freedom? There isn't any. Where's the innovation? Well, innovation needs freedom, since there's none of that, there's no innovation either.

Apple needs to be cut down to 5% of what it currently is. Same with Microsoft. Just crash these companies already and we'll have hardcore competition, we'll have innovation at every corner, and we'll have better consumer prices.

Everyone who hasn't slept in their business lectures knows that. It's proven, it's science.
 

frenchcamp49er

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2014
694
1,112
Apple and Microsoft are forming an Oligopoly when it comes to operating systems, this needs to find an end. Where is the freedom? There isn't any. Where's the innovation? Well, innovation needs freedom, since there's none of that, there's no innovation either.

Apple needs to be cut down to 5% of what it currently is. Same with Microsoft. Just crash these companies already and we'll have hardcore competition, we'll have innovation at every corner, and we'll have better consumer prices.

Everyone who hasn't slept in their business lectures knows that. It's proven, it's science.
Really? 🤦‍♂️
 
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CarlJ

macrumors 604
Feb 23, 2004
6,976
12,140
San Diego, CA, USA
Which I think illustrates nicely the incredible hurdles to new competition in this market against the entrenched incumbents Apple and Google, hence justifying intervention in the market.
What you're arguing for is essentially nationalizing the iPhone ecosystem. "It's really hard to do what Apple did, so let's just take it away from them and give it to everybody". Now, if you wanted the governments, collectively, to pay Apple, say, a couple trillion dollars for taking away what Apple built and giving it to everybody, maybe you could make a case for that. But seizing private assets for the public good should not be undertaken lightly.
 
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icanhazmac

Contributor
Apr 11, 2018
2,575
9,818
Apple and Microsoft are forming an Oligopoly when it comes to operating systems, this needs to find an end.

One could certainly argue your point with Microsoft and PCs but how exactly do you propose that we force people off Windows? At best you would need others to write completely compatible OSs as alternatives and I don't see anyone even considering taking that on. Furthermore, Windows market share appears to be down significantly in the last 10 years:


As far as Apple goes, they don't have anywhere near the market share Windows does. One could actually argue that it is Android that should be broken up but again how do you force that?

 
Last edited:

playtech1

macrumors 6502a
Oct 10, 2014
678
849
What you're arguing for is essentially nationalizing the iPhone ecosystem. "It's really hard to do what Apple did, so let's just take it away from them and give it to everybody". Now, if you wanted the governments, collectively, to pay Apple, say, a couple trillion dollars for taking away what Apple built and giving it to everybody, maybe you could make a case for that. But seizing private assets for the public good should not be undertaken lightly.
Not really - it seems like a targeted intervention that leaves Apple fundamentally in control of the platform but with some extra rules about how it treats third parties.
 
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vipergts2207

macrumors 601
Apr 7, 2009
4,406
9,839
Columbus, OH
Not really - it seems like a targeted intervention that leaves Apple fundamentally in control of the platform but with some extra rules about how it treats third parties.
Hey man, nothing wrong with a whole bunch of hyperbolic nonsense. This is basically nationalizing iOS.

😆
 

Silly John Fatty

macrumors 68000
Nov 6, 2012
1,768
493
Really? 🤦‍♂️

Yes. That's the fundamental observation of free markets and free trade, that's the base principle they're built on. So unless you want some monopolistic, monarchic, communist/nazi, dictatorship type of markets, then what I wrote will usually be the principles that you wish to live under, and sadly they're not met in this specific industry.

What we have here is some sort of Oligopoly. It's a well known scientific fact that prices are lower in total competition, but quantity and quality are higher. If you want to counter this you're trying to counter maybe 500 years of observation and research.

Here you have an article on the advantages of an Oligopoly, just so you see how bad it really is: https://connectusfund.org/oligopoly-advantages-and-disadvantages

And Apple is even mentioned too a few times.

One could certainly argue your point with Microsoft and PCs but how exactly do you propose that we force people off Windows? At best you would need others to write completely compatible OSs as alternatives and I don't see anyone even considering taking that on. Furthermore, Windows market share appears to be down significantly in the last 10 years:


As far as Apple goes, they don't have anywhere near the market share Windows does. One could actually argue that it is Android that should be broken up but again how do you force that?


First, you can not only compare it by market share. That's one way to measure it, but not the only way. Both companies are competing with different strategies. Some companies prefer to strategically segment their target market in a way that they are handling a small market share. And they may have a small market share, but it doesn't change anything to the fact you still only have two companies to chose from.

Apple is such a company, it doesn't have a lot of market share, but it is investing a lot in publicity and sells its products (that are technically partially inferior) at a very high price. It is amongst the companies spending the most on paid aids: https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...-paid-search-ads-in-2020-ranking-12th-overall

So what Apple is about is more marketing and publicity rather than technology I would say. Marketing is not just publicity but also includes things like the casing of your Mac, the materials it's made from and how it feels under your fingers, the package of their products and how they smell, the material the cables were made of, what aesthetics are being used on their website, what people wear in these, what text-style font is used on the website, etc.

All these things are more about looks than about what is really behind all these products. And Apple is a lot about that. Apple is not selling computers and mobile phone, it is selling feelings. I'm not kidding, do a Marketing Management lecture and that's the steps how it works according to every text book.

Second, you can't compare it by brands, but you should compare it by their owners.


If you combine iOS and MacOS, Apple holds 27%.

What's interesting on this graph is that at the end. you can see Windows and MacOS going down simultaneously while the mobile platforms going up in the exact same spot.

This is what's been happening overall in the past decades and it will continue to go this way: For many people, their main "computer" (and their only one) will be their phone. This means the relative market size of PC OSs will continue to shrink (relatively) and we can expect worse quality.

And that's all it's about, Apple is bad quality and it will be even worse quality. But sadly, Windows is bad quality too 😂 No other options I guess.

And as to how to do the division of these big companies: That's very simple and has been done many, many, many times in history (it's happening all the time, even night now), and it would basically be to force Apple to sell a part of itself. This new organization would be a completely separate company and would start to compete with Apple.

It happens very often (in Europe and other civilized societies at least) that if a company holds a too powerful market position (e.g. too big market share) in a certain segment, that they are forced to sell some of it. Usually some smaller competing companies will buy these shares. It's nothing new either way, it's just the US is a chaotic, irrational mess at the moment, so you can't expect much quality to be delivered from there for the moment. I hope it changes fast and I hope Americans finally take it in their hands and give their great country the update it's been waiting for and has needed the past decades.

If they don't, the USA will in the future be a state comparable to Spain these days - a once big player amongst many other equally big and also many much bigger players.
 
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melapple

macrumors 6502
Aug 29, 2013
257
68
Can anyone clarify how they define a EU user? Someone who is located in the EU? (maybe verified using location services?) someone who has an Apple ID in a European country? In that case anyone in the world could easily benefit from those same regulations. I’d like to know this if someone has any idea.
 

wbeasley

macrumors 65816
Nov 23, 2007
1,306
1,464
"In a support document, Apple has explained why alternative app stores, alternative payment options, and other updates are being limited to the EU, highlighting risks like fraud, scams, and other privacy threats."
They're not wrong though. Ripping companies off by demanding 30% commission in fact is scam.
Ripping off?

Ever shopped at retail stores? Know what their markups are?
30% of a $1 app given all the infrastructure and tools and feedback and app checking is a great deal for small devs.
How much are game OSes keeping? :)
And they are even more tightly controlled environments...

I want to play music and movies on my Switch.
No app because Nintendo wont allow it. VLC on it would be awesome.
Been talked about and shouldnt be hard to implement.
 

Ctrlos

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2022
888
1,927
So the EU is being selective in who they go after and harm then? They preach the concept of choice but don't really stand behind that? I've mentioned before, I can't install apps from alternate app stores on my TV, Car, Smart home speaker, Game console.

Apple is in the business of selling hardware as well let's not forget. And Microsoft and Sony are just as large as Apple when it comes to being "gate keepers". That's a key word in all their language, Microsoft has already said they will have an App Store for the iPhone. They are getting the best out of this, they can have an App Store on iPhone but others like EPIC or whomever can't have an App Store on the Xbox? If we are going all in on "choice" let's go all in let's not dance around it and say Gate keepers only exist on phones where a market place is some new concept. It was on my Xbox as long as the iPhone has been around if not longer.
I have a choice in the games industry of where I buy my software. I can ignore the digital stores and buy physical media. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are not the sole storefronts for their platforms. Last time I checked my iPhone doesn’t take cartridges!

At the same time games consoles are recreational devices in a much larger entertainment industry. Books and Movies are their competition.

Smartphones however are an infrastructure unto themselves, a splinternet of apps and hardware that are a necessity for western society.

That’s just a bit different.
 

wbeasley

macrumors 65816
Nov 23, 2007
1,306
1,464
Yes. That's the fundamental observation of free markets and free trade, that's the base principle they're built on. So unless you want some monopolistic, monarchic, communist/nazi, dictatorship type of markets, then what I wrote will usually be the principles that you wish to live under, and sadly they're not met in this specific industry.

What we have here is some sort of Oligopoly. It's a well known scientific fact that prices are lower in total competition, but quantity and quality are higher. If you want to counter this you're trying to counter maybe 500 years of observation and research.

Here you have an article on the advantages of an Oligopoly, just so you see how bad it really is: https://connectusfund.org/oligopoly-advantages-and-disadvantages

And Apple is even mentioned too a few times.



First, you can not only compare it by market share. That's one way to measure it, but not the only way. Both companies are competing with different strategies. Some companies prefer to strategically segment their target market in a way that they are handling a small market share. And they may have a small market share, but it doesn't change anything to the fact you still only have two companies to chose from.

Apple is such a company, it doesn't have a lot of market share, but it is investing a lot in publicity and sells its products (that are technically partially inferior) at a very high price. It is amongst the companies spending the most on paid aids: https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...-paid-search-ads-in-2020-ranking-12th-overall

So what Apple is about is more marketing and publicity rather than technology I would say. Marketing is not just publicity but also includes things like the casing of your Mac, the materials it's made from and how it feels under your fingers, the package of their products and how they smell, the material the cables were made of, what aesthetics are being used on their website, what people wear in these, what text-style font is used on the website, etc.

All these things are more about looks than about what is really behind all these products. And Apple is a lot about that. Apple is not selling computers and mobile phone, it is selling feelings. I'm not kidding, do a Marketing Management lecture and that's the steps how it works according to every text book.

Second, you can't compare it by brands, but you should compare it by their owners.


If you combine iOS and MacOS, Apple holds 27%.

What's interesting on this graph is that at the end. you can see Windows and MacOS going down simultaneously while the mobile platforms going up in the exact same spot.

This is what's been happening overall in the past decades and it will continue to go this way: For many people, their main "computer" (and their only one) will be their phone. This means the relative market size of PC OSs will continue to shrink (relatively) and we can expect worse quality.

And that's all it's about, Apple is bad quality and it will be even worse quality. But sadly, Windows is bad quality too 😂 No other options I guess.

And as to how to do the division of these big companies: That's very simple and has been done many, many, many times in history (it's happening all the time, even night now), and it would basically be to force Apple to sell a part of itself. This new organization would be a completely separate company and would start to compete with Apple.

It happens very often (in Europe and other civilized societies at least) that if a company holds a too powerful market position (e.g. too big market share) in a certain segment, that they are forced to sell some of it. Usually some smaller competing companies will buy these shares. It's nothing new either way, it's just the US is a chaotic, irrational mess at the moment, so you can't expect much quality to be delivered from there for the moment. I hope it changes fast and I hope Americans finally take it in their hands and give their great country the update it's been waiting for and has needed the past decades.

If they don't, the USA will in the future be a state comparable to Spain these days - a once big player amongst many other equally big and also many much bigger players.
Its not a monopoly when the same apps are available on iOS and Android.
You just want the same rules (and chaos) of Android on iPhone hardware.

Purchasers decide what works for them.
If Apple didnt meet the buyer needs, they wouldnt be selling as many phones as they are.

Anyone who doesnt like it is FREE to buy any Android phone.
That's free market in action.
 
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wbeasley

macrumors 65816
Nov 23, 2007
1,306
1,464
I have a choice in the games industry of where I buy my software. I can ignore the digital stores and buy physical media. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are not the sole storefronts for their platforms. Last time I checked my iPhone doesn’t take cartridges!

At the same time games consoles are recreational devices in a much larger entertainment industry. Books and Movies are their competition.

Smartphones however are an infrastructure unto themselves, a splinternet of apps and hardware that are a necessity for western society.

That’s just a bit different.
And the physical media for games would still pay fees to the games companies.
And more than 30% in fees for retail sales.

Read the EULA. You own the hardware. Youve never owned the software and are tied down with how you use it.
 
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wbeasley

macrumors 65816
Nov 23, 2007
1,306
1,464
Can anyone clarify how they define a EU user? Someone who is located in the EU? (maybe verified using location services?) someone who has an Apple ID in a European country? In that case anyone in the world could easily benefit from those same regulations. I’d like to know this if someone has any idea.
benefit? LOL
 
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makitango

macrumors 6502a
Apr 15, 2012
766
1,064
Its not a monopoly when the same apps are available on iOS and Android.
You just want the same rules (and chaos) of Android on iPhone hardware.
"Same" means something different. You can have an app from the same dev with the same name on another platform, but never the same. ALso, since those are different platforms, even if cunctionality is largely similar, those will be fundamentally different entities.
Purchasers decide what works for them.
So I just purchase from some darknet an assassin subscription and start printing names like Arya to Jaqen H'ghar. Since we all vote with our wallets, right?
If Apple didnt meet the buyer needs, they wouldnt be selling as many phones as they are.
Wrong logic. Apple can still not meet the needs but being the lesser evil.
Anyone who doesnt like it is FREE to buy any Android phone.
That's free market in action.
Anyone who doesn't like it can just wait. Also, many of our ancestors fought for our countries to be how they are now. What a spit in their faces because they didn't just leave but instead pressed to improve things. That's why we have elections. We vote to improve things, we don't buy tickets so we can vote.
 
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makitango

macrumors 6502a
Apr 15, 2012
766
1,064
And the physical media for games would still pay fees to the games companies.
And more than 30% in fees for retail sales.

Read the EULA. You own the hardware. Youve never owned the software and are tied down with how you use it.
In the EU, you own a copy of the software and you can do with it as much as you please. Our country is not like yours apparently where I buy a hammer and ten years later the shop can still tell me which nails to buy.
 

Ctrlos

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2022
888
1,927
And the physical media for games would still pay fees to the games companies.
And more than 30% in fees for retail sales.

Read the EULA. You own the hardware. Youve never owned the software and are tied down with how you use it.
Unless I buy physical media.
 

Ctrlos

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2022
888
1,927
Its not a monopoly when the same apps are available on iOS and Android.
You just want the same rules (and chaos) of Android on iPhone hardware.

Purchasers decide what works for them.
If Apple didnt meet the buyer needs, they wouldnt be selling as many phones as they are.

Anyone who doesnt like it is FREE to buy any Android phone.
That's free market in action.
You’ve clearly never owned an Android phone if you think there is any app parity between it and iOS. Android lacks so many big iPhone apps it’s not even funny.

At the same time there isn’t really any chaos in Androidland. Even stores with mass adoption like Samsung’s App Gallery gain very little traction. But at least I can download an app from the internet and run it myself on Android; I don’t need grandfather Apple telling me what I can and cannot do

But I don’t use an Android device because all the apps I want are on iOS.
 
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