Great! Maybe now Apple will finally start innovating again rather than nickel-and-diming their way to profitability.
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New U.S. Antitrust Bill Would Require Apple and Google to Allow Third-Party App Stores and Sideloading
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After a few years of owning an iphone, does anyone actually download apps anymore? I haven't downloaded an app in years - and the last few were free
If people buy iOS Apps elsewhere, are those apps going to be the same as the one from the App Store? If not, how is the OS going to be able to protect people from an injected app, while still recognizing the validity of the app bought elsewhere?
What % of Google’s revenue comes from the Play store?
given they don’t make the hardware I can see this having a bigger impact on Google.
For us Apple customers wont apple just try and recoup the investment elsewhere? Developer SDK costs etc which will push up app prices.
overall I’m disappointed with this whole thing. If government wants to interfere I’d rather they focused on the addictive nature of apps that offer “lootboxes” or digital good that are basically worthless.
given they don’t make the hardware I can see this having a bigger impact on Google.
For us Apple customers wont apple just try and recoup the investment elsewhere? Developer SDK costs etc which will push up app prices.
overall I’m disappointed with this whole thing. If government wants to interfere I’d rather they focused on the addictive nature of apps that offer “lootboxes” or digital good that are basically worthless.
In doing so, Apple will probably refuse Genius Bar software glitches unless the phone was wiped. Also, won’t backup any apps that was side loaded or installed with alternative app stores. Just to name a few things they will do.
Guess I'll buy a burner iphone and pirate some of those sweet apps from you developers! This is what you wanted right?!
I would love to hear people say they don't want this because it makes iOS less secure, but allowing Apple to scan your images and messages and possibly upload them to the government, that's OK 😂😂
Apple would first file an injunction lawsuit in federal court. And it would probably wind its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. But moreover, like Ted Cruz said on the Senate floor the other day about crypto, people shouldn't be making laws about things they don't fully understand.
One more thing... it seems many people are not able to see beyond the tip of their noses:
I doubt these "alternative app stores" will host apps for free. There's an expense hosting and maintaining an AppStore.
And on top of that, they will need to make money.
And starting small means they will need to charge developers to host their apps a reasonable percentage of the revenue.
And do you think they will be interested in hosting your free apps, if they make no money? I doubt it!
And now add the costs to market the apps.
It's a terrible idea many will regret later when they realize they have shot their own foot.
I doubt these "alternative app stores" will host apps for free. There's an expense hosting and maintaining an AppStore.
And on top of that, they will need to make money.
And starting small means they will need to charge developers to host their apps a reasonable percentage of the revenue.
And do you think they will be interested in hosting your free apps, if they make no money? I doubt it!
And now add the costs to market the apps.
It's a terrible idea many will regret later when they realize they have shot their own foot.
I can think of one pretty straightforward scenario:
An app people massively rely on like Whatsapp (it's the number one way people text in many places) no longer wants to abide by the privacy standards imposed by Apple's Appstore. They now refuse to offer the app in the appstore and force people to sideload it. People capitulate and now Whatsapp (Facebook) no longer is meaningfully fettered by Apple in any way with respect to privacy settings unless somehow Apple imposes restrictions on sideloaded apps which might get litigated or already be covered in a piece of legislation like this.
Another obvious one is malware.
I'm sure there are other possibilities of downsides here. This is likely a mixed bag for consumers. Some obvious pros for sure, but also some cons. It's not a clear cut all-positive scenario.
Really simple. If Apple determines the APP store in no longer profitable enough to warrant continued investment or support, there will be non and the platform will die. Apple is a for profit company not a non profit organization. They have repeatedly shown the willingness to kill popular things that don’t make business sense.
Interesting to see the change in sentiment in the comments given the recent controversy with csam scanning.
Personally, I’m against it. Android already allows sideloading of apps so there is consumer choice to not use Apple devices. Seeing the garbage lumped onto storefronts like Steam, feature-barren stores like Epic, and datamining-at-all-costs like Facebook and many other examples makes drawn to Apples “walled garden approach”.
If Android did not exist, then I would change my mind.
Personally, I’m against it. Android already allows sideloading of apps so there is consumer choice to not use Apple devices. Seeing the garbage lumped onto storefronts like Steam, feature-barren stores like Epic, and datamining-at-all-costs like Facebook and many other examples makes drawn to Apples “walled garden approach”.
If Android did not exist, then I would change my mind.
Blackburn said that Apple and Google's refusal to allow for third-party App Stores is a "direct affront to a free and fair marketplace, and Klobuchar said that the legislation levels the playing field and will ensure an "innovative and competitive marketplace."
so why is this limited to App stores, over 50M users - why not for EVERYTHING? eg the example above Walmart and Target cross advertising, cross everything?
and I should also allowed to use my United ticket on an American flight if I want to ...
so why is this limited to App stores, over 50M users - why not for EVERYTHING? eg the example above Walmart and Target cross advertising, cross everything?
and I should also allowed to use my United ticket on an American flight if I want to ...
Then keep using the apple app store and let us have the alternatives. Still win/win!
Dumbest **** I’ve seen in a long time. It’s their hardware, their OS, and their App Store. Why shouldn’t they be able to preference their own apps? Why should they have to provide third party developers with anything? Especially developers that don’t want to participate in Apple’s App Store. So now Apple has to help the competition against its own interest?
Well Apple will be loading CSAM and reading your device and more to come. How secure?
If Walmart and Target were the only 2 stores in the US, I am pretty sure they would have to comply with a lot.
Because there is a lot of different stores they can do whatever they want. If there would be 10 different OS there would no need for this.
That's a specious argument and you know it.
Apple sold you a phone.
This means that Apple can't control your phone and what you install.
I just want this single, simple checkbox added to iPadOS.
That's all that's keeping me from buying an iPad today.
And if Apple wants to disclaim support for my iPad if I run 3rd party software on it, I'm fine with that.
That's all that's keeping me from buying an iPad today.
And if Apple wants to disclaim support for my iPad if I run 3rd party software on it, I'm fine with that.
I get the inclination to jump in and celebrate this, but the assumption that the status quo will continue with multiple app stores is just not realistic. Apple is going to make up the revenue somehow, my guess is charging more for the developer tools. Also could see them containering the side loaded apps, do so in a way that is compliant with any new law but still keeps the OS secure and in doing so building in a performance hit for the apps installed by an alternate method.
I’ve read in these forums that iPhone/Mac people don’t pirate. It’s only those cheap Android/Windows users. /s
Ironically webapps we’re initially exclusively. Companies invest resources to develop products and services that as much generate revenue as possible. It’s kind of the definition
It’s coming! I’ve been saying for years that it’s just a matter of time before the hammer drops, and a government somewhere on the planet changes the law to clarify the terms and conditions of online App Stores. I think the consumer should have choice. No one is forcing any consumer to ever use a store besides the main Apple App store. But for those who would like choice, that option should exist. iPhones aren’t free, and the option to install apps from anywhere exists on the Mac, so why not the iPhone which runs a version of the macOS kernel?
Who is Apple, a distant company in California, to restrict otherwise legal trade between a willing seller of an App and a willing purchaser?? In so doing, Apple has the sole ability to collect rents and fees from in-app purchases on its platform, and everyone else is locked out. Why? This is really the long and the short of it. There should be more competition in the App Store operator market, not less. If a developer is willing to take on the cost and risk of offering an in app payment service, why should they be restricted from doing so?
Who is Apple, a distant company in California, to restrict otherwise legal trade between a willing seller of an App and a willing purchaser?? In so doing, Apple has the sole ability to collect rents and fees from in-app purchases on its platform, and everyone else is locked out. Why? This is really the long and the short of it. There should be more competition in the App Store operator market, not less. If a developer is willing to take on the cost and risk of offering an in app payment service, why should they be restricted from doing so?
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And...all the iOS developers were right. Apple shot itself in the foot and didn't give in just a smidge to keep the government off their back.
Overall I think this is going to be good for iOS as a platform, especially the iPad which just doesn't have the volume to justify pro-level app development with a 30% cut.
Overall I think this is going to be good for iOS as a platform, especially the iPad which just doesn't have the volume to justify pro-level app development with a 30% cut.
Awesome! The thing that made Apple stand out, its closed garden, is no more! We can wait even longer at the Genius Bar as 100s of iphones are brought in after being bricked runnng pirated software with viri and malware. /s