Exactly. And a lot of people are waking up to that fact. Sure, the fanboys will defend Apple to the bitter end and claim the App Store makes the platform more secure despite the overwhelming evidence that it does not. Thankfully lots of governments are waking up and taking action.
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Sketchy ChatGPT App Soars Up App Store Charts, Charges $7.99 Weekly Subscription [Update: Removed]
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I agree. I almost never look at the App Store. It's become the digital equivalent of cheap plastic crap from the dollar store. I've paid for a few apps over the years and maintain a few subscriptions, but I never look for anything new these days. At this point, how many To Do apps or Note apps or whatever does the world need? I have zero interest in all these stupid games that exist only to show ads or push in-app purchases in order to do anything besides play the game at its most basic level. The promise of the App Store is not the reality of the App Store.
Because having the option is not the same thing as throwing open the gates for everyone. Not everyone will utilize it and, hopefully, those who do understand the ramifications of what they are installing will have a better experience. The trouble comes when those naïve enough to not understand what they are installing grab something, but that realistically is on the end user and not Apple. The paternalistic approach that Apple currently uses is alienating some of their more invested customer base for the sake of those who really aren't invested in whether they use iOS or Android.
Apple blocks potentially millions of apps/updates from harm/scams and the few apps that you see sneak through apparently means Apple is 100% greedy 🤦♂️
It's also just completely inappropriate for a corporation to tell me, an adult, what I'm allowed to do with my device, what kinds of apps I can write or install. I wonder if the same people who defend Apple's App Store nannying would defend a car company that decided where one should and should not go and prevented the car from operating in the "bad" parts of town. Probably not.
Everyone, from what has been posted and their APIs DO have a fee, this doesn’t appear to be a scam. Let’s address this before continuing to spread misinformation.
Now the name or price of a product can be up for debate. However, as a developer with my own business I don’t want Apple to set my prices for me. That’s for me to decide and the market on how many purchases I get.
Now the name or price of a product can be up for debate. However, as a developer with my own business I don’t want Apple to set my prices for me. That’s for me to decide and the market on how many purchases I get.
Yes it will. You bet Epic and Facebook are two for sure 100% guarantee to no longer be on the App Store. So if it’s not on the App Store, how do I get it?
Agreed, but by that same logic, Apple shouldn't tell you, a developer, what kind of apps you may and may not write for the platform. Let the market decide. Let adults be adults and make their own choices.
Easy. You download it from Epic or Facebook, like you do now on the Mac or PC or whatever.
There are limitations on a lot of software APIs and stores and things. Valve shouldn’t tell me what I can and cannot put on Steam. Even if it is a ransomware attack (I would never do this but for sake of argument).
Apple is between a rock and a hard place. Why do we even have screen time? People expect Apple to be their parent. There were people calling for Apple to be way more strict about using the phone while driving.
Both sides converge. It’s no win.
It isn't so much the subscription as much as it is the deveolper trying to pass it off as the App being an OpenAI app.
Let the market decide how many purchases you get without using another companies name and logo.
I don't agree that it's no win. Platforms should be open and adults should be able to make their own choices. If some people don't like it, they are free to use a curated app store to buy their software and live in whatever "walled garden" they want. If they want to protect their kids, they can buy parental control apps.
Apple is the one who has inserted themselves into adult lives in a completely inappropriate way. They made that decision. Apple is the one trying to be everyone's parent because they feel entitled to control their platform and dictate to me, an adult, what I can and cannot do with my device. I find this offensive, but beyond that, I think it's a bad precedent to set for several reasons. When billions of people use and depend upon a platform, we should minimize gatekeeper activity. Today's benevolent gatekeeper is tomorrow's tyrant. Platforms should be open. It's in society's best interest.
No. You'll have to make the decision about whether or not to use those apps. You can remain in the walled garden and not use them. Choice works both ways.
What always amazes me about people, you know WELL in advance how Apple does things, how Apple controls things etc. and yet still complain about it.
Nobody made you buy an iPhone knowing that. Nobody makes you continue to use an iPhone knowing that.
That's like buying a Ram truck and complaining because you can't put Ford's Ford sync in it. You bought it knowing what the limitations were.
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I've been a customer for 40 years and I'm not going to leave Apple's platforms over the iOS App Store. Personally, Apple's App Store rules don't really impact me. I rarely look at the App Store and I haven't bought an app in years. The App Store is a wasteland of junk. Now if they ever force the same kind of inappropriate, censorious, nannying on the Mac, I'm out.
My issue is a philosophical/moral one. I believe platforms should be as open as possible and not have gatekeepers. I don't think one company should be able to yank a bunch of apps because some morally bankrupt totalitarian regime tells them to do it. I don't think one company should essentially have a kill switch over the platform. This is bad for society. Today's benevolent gatekeeper is tomorrow's tyrant. It's a terrible model and should not be allowed.
No. Every platform should be this way. If you want to be coddled, nannied, and babied by Apple, fine. Stick to the App Store. When they are forced to allow third party app stores, nothing changes for you. You can still live in your entitled walled garden and pretend that Apple is protecting you from the big bad digital boogeymen out there.
Because it's not done by actual people, but rather by automation.
To me, any app that asks weekly subscriptions should automatically trigger human review process.
I've decided to start using ChatGPT to generate all of my future Macrumors posts.
Letting this stuff through the review process is no good. Apple hurts their own walled garden argument when this kind of stuff happens.