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I don't know why it just occurred to me but this still will likely have very minimal impact on Apple's control. Dealing with Apple's payment system is actually the least of my problems, that works fine. It's things like denying LAN scanning apps the ability to see MAC addresses and other petty things like that which I have a problem with. This may solve the App Store approval process issue but Apple still has full control.
 
I wouldn't be quite so sure about that.

Apple has had the app store on the Mac for as long as I remember, but my guess is that most people still download software outside of Apple's app store.

Other companies have done quite well at becoming the go-to place to purchase and manage software (eg, Steam is arguably a platform that distributes games on behalf of developers)
 
A 4% hit to service revenue worldwide....

App store/services revenue was $78 billion for fiscal year 2022.

4% of $78 billion is $3,120,000,000.

App store margins are reported to be 78%.

78% of $3,120,000,000 is $2,433,600,000.

That's a lot of money.
I completely agree. The hit to Apple revenues if this happens in the US is substantial. No one is duped by the Apple argument that they only fight this for the user privacy and safety. 30% cut with a 78% margin is just ridiculous.
 
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Totally agree with Morgan Stanley. Even if Apple were to allow alternative app stores and side-loading of apps, I will always stick with the App Store. Just my choice!
What would you do if Spotify, Netflix or any other popular app were moving to these third party app stores? I feel like this is Apple’s biggest concern: that iOS App Store become as empty as the Mac App Store
 
If these changes have no impact on Apple revenue, why is Apple fighting these changes so hard ? If they have to implement them for the EU, why not implement them for the rest of the world ?

Because this research is not from Apple and we are talking about a penny pinching company selling a cloth for … how much again?
 
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What would you do if Spotify, Netflix or any other popular app were moving to these third party app stores? I feel like this is Apple’s biggest concern: that iOS App Store become as empty as the Mac App Store

Hasn’t happened on Android, wont happen on iOS. If anything, there will me multiple sources to get the app
 
The problem is, it will only take a few very large and prominent apps that people rely on to stop offering via app store.
Name ONE app on Android that fits your definition that isn't available on the PlayStore but is on a 3rd party appstore. My only requirement is that it's not banned from the PlayStore because of Google's policy.

Adobe, MS, Apple, Amazon...pretty much the Who's Who of tech who develops for Android places their apps on the PlayStore, unless it's been banned.

The only apps people will want from a 3rd party appstore would be emulators banned from Apple's AppStore.
Once many people are essentially forced to download outside the app store, it will soon become common place for many developers both big and small to require you to download outside the app store, making it pretty much impossible for typical users to avoid doing so.
This will only happen if Apple keeps their stick up their (_!_) AppStore policies. No emulator...phhffffbbbtt.
If I wanted this experience, I would've bought an Android phone.
I have an Android phone, but I don't have any 3rd Party appstore on my phone. The experience is glorious.😏
 
Because this research is not from Apple and we are talking about a penny pinching company selling a cloth for … how much again?
They are penny pinching indeed. But like all things, it has to end someday. Getting a cut of 30% on a subscription for me is just ridiculous. I understand all the arguments for safety and privacy but I think the user should have the final choice if he wants to avoid the app store.
 
Ehh… I’m not sure about that. This assumes Apple only has to open up iOS in Europe. And presumably most apps, especially the micro-transaction filled games that generate most of the App Store revenue, stay on the App Store. If those games left in the US, that would be rather painful for Apple.

I suspect that Apple’s services revenue is mainly iCloud, App Store, and the Google search deal. I think most Apple’s subscription services are either operated at a loss or at low margins. But they don’t break things out line by line so we can see.
 
Why are all the news stories about Apple's AppStore? Don't other cell phone manufacturers have their own App Store? Where is the outcry regarding their app store? What's next... PlayStation is going to go after XBOX so you can access the XBOX store on the PlayStation?

If you don't like it, use a different phone. I prefer the vetted process too.
 
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I completely agree. The hit to Apple revenues if this happens in the US is substantial. No one is duped by the Apple argument that they only fight this for the user privacy and safety. 30% cut with a 78% margin is just ridiculous.
Of course, less than 2% of developers pay 30% on only some of their revenue. And the 78% margin is a number made up by Epic.
 
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Why are all the news stories about Apple's AppStore? Don't other cell phone manufacturers have their own App Store? Where is the outcry regarding their app store? What's next... PlayStation is going to go after XBOX so you can access the XBOX store on the PlayStation?

If you don't like it, use a different phone. I prefer the vetted process too.
For example, with Xbox you can buy your games at Best Buy, at Walmart, at Amazon, at eBay, etc.
 
If these changes have no impact on Apple revenue, why is Apple fighting these changes so hard ? If they have to implement them for the EU, why not implement them for the rest of the world ?
what's the point of the regulation if it will not garner much if any consumers to another store?
 
When the iPhone first came out, Apple was against the whole concept of third party apps on their phones...
I don't actually believe Apple was against an App Store. The iOS SDK was available 10 months after the iPhone's launch and the App Store was launch a couple months after that. 10 months isn't a lot of time for Apple to completely change its mind and plan and build the SDK, App Store, and app vetting process.

What's more realistic that Apple publicly said they were against the App Store until their App Store plans were ready.
 
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They have literally never said it was about revenue. That’s rumor gossip folks that live in negativity. They’ve always said it will create a concern for privacy for users.
 
Of course, less than 2% of developers pay 30% on only some of their revenue. And the 78% margin is a number made up by Epic.
No actually it is not a made up number. Per their last financial results, the margin for Apple services is around 71%. This includes Apple music, Icloud, Apple tv+ and of course the App store. I am quite sur the margin on the App store is much higher than Apple Tv+ so the number of 78% is quite realistic.

 
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They have literally never said it was about revenue. That’s rumor gossip folks that live in negativity. They’ve always said it will create a concern for privacy for users.
I have been downloading software on my mac from outside the mac os App store for some time and I had no issue of privacy nor safety. Why would I have a problem tomorrow with my iPhone ?

The problem here is people should have a choice. If I want to download an app from the developper directly, I should be able to do that. If I want to subscribe to Spotify or Netflix I don't see why Apple should have a cut of 30%.
 
If these changes have no impact on Apple revenue, why is Apple fighting these changes so hard ? If they have to implement them for the EU, why not implement them for the rest of the world ?
Possible downside is Apple's rep takes a hit if a side loaded app doesn't interface perfectly with IOS. Since it would't be completely vetted by Apple there could be operating problems causing system crashes etc.
 
Because the one thing Apple cares more about than profit is control.
Apple without control is nothing.

How is there control when there is optionality? People aren't forced to buy Apple products. And many people buy Apple products precisely for the relatively tighter security of their platforms. Security inevitably comes with controls, but extrapolating that into some dictatorial notion of "control" may be naive. There are great non-Apple products out there. Some come with security trade-offs.
 
Possible downside is Apple's rep takes a hit if a side loaded app doesn't interface perfectly with IOS. Since it would't be completely vetted by Apple there could be operating problems causing system crashes etc.
I use on a daily basis software on my mac. This software is usually downloaded outside the App Store and directly from the developper. I never had any issue with that and I should be able to do that on my iPhone.

How does it make any sense that if I subscribe to Microsoft Office, Netflix or Spotify on my iPhone through the app, Apple asks for a 30% cut ?
 
I never got this stubbornness of Apple exactly because of this - revenue wouldn't change much, because big companies that would try "escaping" wouldn't pay Apple 30% cut even if they were in App Store (just like Amazon and other do now) and this only served to cripple end user experience (as they cannot but ebooks, etc. directly from the app and have to manually go to a page).
 
They are penny pinching indeed. But like all things, it has to end someday. Getting a cut of 30% on a subscription for me is just ridiculous. I understand all the arguments for safety and privacy but I think the user should have the final choice if he wants to avoid the app store.
they going to lose more than 15/30% if they have to run everything themselves you realise this right?
 
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