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"Core Technology" There it is. Put up or shut up. Either STOP USING Apple's developers' work, or PAY FOR IT. 🤷‍♂️
Don't you have to pay a yearly fee to use Apple's work? Not sure where the "or pay for it" comes from since you literally can't build apps on iOS without paying to be in the developer program.
 
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"Core Technology" There it is. Put up or shut up. Either STOP USING Apple's developers' work, or PAY FOR IT. 🤷‍♂️

iOS dev here who literally could never make a penny without standing on the shoulders of thousands of Apple iOS devs, who’ve put in uncountable years of effort into areas I basically have zero experience or expertise in. 👋

Most people claiming Apple's cut is unearned don’t know what “import Foundation” does at the top of literally every iOS code file in literally every AppStore app. (Hint: It's not necessary to get an app into the App Store!)

Ditto for:

import UIKit
import SwiftUI
import CryptoKit
Button()
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: session)
etc, etc, etc…

Literally 💯 of iOS apps use code written by Apple to do a staggering amount of their work.

ZERO apps roll their own custom code instead of using the mountain of frameworks and APIs that Apple has built and perfected (complete with expected features like free dark mode, rotation, language, compat across device, accessibility size, backgrounding, persistence, etc, etc, etc features).

ZERO apps do this because it would cost 10-20x as much to develop, and nobody would pay for the lesser experience.

Even the simplest app would take literal years more development, and STILL not achieve anything close to feature parity by dropping in Apple’s code with zero effort.

Oh, and when iOS updates with new features, or a new style? INSTANTLY that app needs massive work to retain feature parity with other apps that did zero work to match style or make use of many new features. (Sometimes a TEENY bit of work to make a huge new feature work if you want.)

Show me an app developer who doesn’t lean HEAVILY on Apple’s developers’ work, and I’ll show you somebody who gets to talk about the “outrageous” price Apple charges for their work. 🙄
Nobody cares. API existed on computers before and nobody ever considered acceptable to charge a percentage of software sale for it, let alone a massive one like Apple does. What Apple did IS anticompetitive and the EU rightly is putting an end so it. Soon enough other countries will do the same.
 
I presume that Apple submitted this plan to the EU months ago — if there was an issue with compliance with the law, I also presume that it would have been brought up to them already. The same developers that complained about the plan previously and complaining again — is this to tickle the ears of EU legislators?
referencing

Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company sued Apple over antitrust concerns, already condemned Apple’s plan, saying it was a case of “malicious compliance” and full of “junk fees,” and now Spotify is essentially saying the same. The streamer, along with Epic, Match, and others, has been a longtime critic of the tech giant and one that has pushed for increased regulation, including through the DMA.

If one looks at Spotify's Jan 26th news, you can see they been stewing about anything Apple for years.
For almost five years – 1,782 days – we have been asking the European Commission to take action against Apple. In a world that values competition and innovation, we found it unacceptable to stand by and allow gatekeepers like Apple to go unchecked.
Yet Spotify is the world's largest Music streamer. source

Spotify is the dominant music streaming service with 180 million subscribers.
According to Midia Research music streaming platform statistics, Spotify has the highest music streaming market share with 31% of the market. Although the competition among music streaming apps is fierce, Spotify added more subscribers during the 12 months leading up to q2 of 2021 (latest data) than any other competitor.
Apple Music had 78 million subscribers worldwide in June 2021. Apple Music has 15% of the total music streaming market share.
So given another stat that people like to point out (Avg. Pay per Stream), Spotify is not the most generous with artists revenue. So some question why they try to go after Apple so badly, a few of us suspect it's to try anything to prevent any loss of marketplace share. :eek:

Screenshot 2024-03-01.png
 


Spotify, Epic Games, Deezer, Paddle, and several other developers and EU associations today sent a joint letter to the European Commission to complain about Apple's "proposed scheme for compliance" with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

App-Store-Unfair-Feature-2.jpg

The 34 companies and associations do not believe Apple's plans "meet the law's requirements." Apple's changes "disregard both the spirit and letter of the law" and if left unchanged, will "make a mockery of the DMA," according to the letter. Several specific components of Apple's plan are highlighted, including the Core Technology Fee, the Notarization process, and the terms that developers must accept.
  • Apple's requirement to stay with the current App Store terms or opt in to new terms provides developers with "an unworkable choice" that adds complexity and confusion. The letter suggests that neither option is DMA compliant and would "consolidate Apple's stronghold over digital markets."
  • The Core Technology Fee and transaction fees will hamper competition and will prevent developers from agreeing to the "unjust terms."
  • Apple is using "unfounded privacy and security concerns" to limit user choice. The "scare screens" that Apple plans to show users will "mislead and degrade the user experience."
  • Apple is not allowing sideloading, and it is making the installation and use of new app stores "difficult, risky and financially unattractive for developers."
The companies and associations are urging the European Union to take "swift, timely and decisive action against Apple." The way the European Commission responds to Apple's proposal "will serve as a litmus test of the DMA and whether it can deliver for Europe's citizens and economy."

Apple is required to comply with the Digital Markets Act by March 7, and the app ecosystem changes baked are baked in to iOS 17.4. We are expecting to see iOS 17.4 released early next week, and that is when alternative app marketplaces, alternative payment methods, and the new terms that Apple has designed for developers will go into effect.

In support of the changes that it is implementing, Apple today published a whitepaper outlining the risks that it is attempting to mitigate with the Notarization process and other requirements alternative app marketplaces and the apps installed through those marketplaces must submit to.

Article Link: Spotify, Epic Games, and Others Argue Apple's App Store Changes Do Not Comply With DMA
At some point, these folks need to move on... this moaning & crying forever is really getting old and they're losing more public sentiment every day..

It feels like they won't be happy/content until Apple is paying THEM to host their apps.

Hosting and distribution ain't free. All they have to do is provide a single copy of their code or update and apple handles distribution to their user base... and it's coming from a place that users feel is safe and free from viruses/malware, but they don't want to pay for that..
 
"Core Technology" There it is. Put up or shut up. Either STOP USING Apple's developers' work, or PAY FOR IT. 🤷‍♂️

iOS dev here who literally could never make a penny without standing on the shoulders of thousands of Apple iOS devs, who’ve put in uncountable years of effort into areas I basically have zero experience or expertise in. 👋

Most people claiming Apple's cut is unearned don’t know what “import Foundation” does at the top of literally every iOS code file in literally every AppStore app. (Hint: It's not necessary to get an app into the App Store!)

Ditto for:

import UIKit
import SwiftUI
import CryptoKit
Button()
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: session)
etc, etc, etc…

Literally 💯 of iOS apps use code written by Apple to do a staggering amount of their work.

ZERO apps roll their own custom code instead of using the mountain of frameworks and APIs that Apple has built and perfected (complete with expected features like free dark mode, rotation, language, compat across device, accessibility size, backgrounding, persistence, etc, etc, etc features).

ZERO apps do this because it would cost 10-20x as much to develop, and nobody would pay for the lesser experience.

Even the simplest app would take literal years more development, and STILL not achieve anything close to feature parity by dropping in Apple’s code with zero effort.

Oh, and when iOS updates with new features, or a new style? INSTANTLY that app needs massive work to retain feature parity with other apps that did zero work to match style or make use of many new features. (Sometimes a TEENY bit of work to make a huge new feature work if you want.)

Show me an app developer who doesn’t lean HEAVILY on Apple’s developers’ work, and I’ll show you somebody who gets to talk about the “outrageous” price Apple charges for their work. 🙄
What a weird perspective. Do you think Apple’s platforms would be what they are if they forced every single app to reinvent every piece of UI, support every new hardware feature, etc. from the ground up?

There’s a reason the industry as a whole left this kind of development model behind in the 80s; what you’re proposing as an alternative to developers who don’t like Apple’s terms wouldn't even be feasible on a modern OS. Apple needs 3rd party developers to create value for their products just as much as 3rd party developers need Apple’s tools to make that job worth pursuing.

Perhaps you’re too new to the industry to have known any other kind of development model than what you’re familiar with on iOS, but this is not the only way things can be done. There are arguments both ways, but putting Apple up on a pedestal where they can do no wrong, and developers supposedly owe their entire business model and livelihood to the company whose products their work supports does no one any favors, especially yourself.
 
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"Core Technology" There it is. Put up or shut up. Either STOP USING Apple's developers' work, or PAY FOR IT. 🤷‍♂️

iOS dev here who literally could never make a penny without standing on the shoulders of thousands of Apple iOS devs, who’ve put in uncountable years of effort into areas I basically have zero experience or expertise in. 👋

This is the case on every operating system, with the exception that here, more than anywhere else, you are forced to use the built-in mechanisms and even pay for them.
 
That's the problem with vague legislation like this. You think Apple has to do X, but then Apple decides to do Y because the rules doesn't exactly come out and say that they can't, and everyone acts all shocked and surprised.

I guess we will know soon enough what the EU thinks of Apple's proposed measures (next week, right?). The DMA only stipulates that Apple has to allow X and Y. It doesn't exactly mandate that Apple has to make it easy for the stakeholders involved or that they must welcome everyone in with an open-leg policy.

Either way, this certainly has been a most entertaining saga to follow. Not least because both sides seem to think they are right (myself included), and up till now, nobody really knows just who will be proven correct until the very last moment. 🤣
 
Whaaaaaaaaaa! Whaaaaaaaaaa!! We can’t sell things on a shelf without paying for space on that shelf!!!! WHaaaaaaaaaa! Our subscriber and customer growth is plateauing and we need to blame someone else for the eventual and inevitable saturation of a mature market Because the Wall Stret Hedge Fund maniacs demand unlimited growth or they’ll go sleep with another stock portfolio! Whhhhaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Apple is evil, tyrranical and monopolistic for wanting control over their devices! WHahhAaaaaaaaaa!!!! We want our own monopolistic app stores to force users to pay what we want them to pay and they won’t be able to price compare because our competition is in another App Store! Whaaaaaqaaaaa!!!!

This is seriously befuddling. Epic takes Apple to court alone, mainly because Spotify knew it was stupid. Spotify knew it would be dumb, and that they’d lose because this argument is not over privacy or security. It’s about cold hard business. Epic and Spotify and other devs want more money…..and Apple is quite content to have it all. They are literally two kids fighting over a fire truck. The fire truck here is the tens of billions of dollars of potential revenue growth by having complete control over the silos. Politics is doing this as well, turning everyone against each other while the government drags us into another world war to test out their new death catapults.

Apple is arguing rightfully, but also selfishly that a third party App Store would compromise the iPhone’s system integrity. There is no doubt to this. A locked cement building with only one door guarded by Apple is very secured. Everyone else can claim liberty and freedom and antitrust till their voice boxes fall out. A third party App Store will not be as secure as Apple’s. No reason to secure it. They didn’t design the iPhone and won’t get blamed when someone’s phone inevitably is hacked. It’s gonna somehow be Apple’s fault Epic sued…..to open the iPhone.

But on the other hand, Windows does fine these days and threats to Windows are low….ish….but when was the last major Windows breach? Vista canned most of them and that was 2 decades ago almost. And Microsoft IS NOT lazy, protecting Windows 24/7 in an awe-inspiring consistent dedication to protection, making Windows Defender stronger than the 3rd party anti-virus programs. Apple could be hesitant to commit to constant vigilance like Microsoft has been. You cannot Argue that A third party App Store is gonna somehow be safe. It isn’t. But, Epic and Spotify have reasons to keep it as safe as they can given people will just go back to the Apple App Store if damage is too high.

What this boils down to is that Epic and Spotify need that 15% markup back from Apple to cause a revenue growth on their books they can sling at their fidgety and mouth breathing investors in New York and Shanghai. The streaming market and app market is reaching saturated maturity and user growth will never go above 4% unless something drastic changes (Competition market exit).

This is gonna blow up in their face when they see the same thing that happened to Android third party stores will happen to them: Increase in tech support asking how to install it. Then tech support when it doesn’t work. Then refunds. And YouTubers making bad press. And the eventual sleeper app carrying a trojan Causing a media frenzy with Apple revoking certificates and banning the store until the problem is resolved.

But please tell me how it’s gonna be sunshine and rainbows as soon as you can sideload your illegal copy of FlappyBirds. I didn‘t need a third party to get Apollo back on my iPhone. I used AltStore, which is available for free And fulfills most of what Erica Sadun and Saurik wanted anyways.

Typed on my VisionPro
 
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This makes me love and trust Apple more and more. It’s their iPhone. People buy their iPhone knowing what they get. They could always not an iPhone. Tough **** to these developers. I hope they lose and the EU stays out of it.
It’s not their iPhone. The consumer buys the phone. It is theirs once they purchase it. If they want to install viruses, set it on fire, etc they can do that.

Yes, it’s their intellectual property, and the law will defend that. But it is not their phone.

Ultimately, giving Apple competition with other app stores will force them to lower their “tax” which will pass savings onto you, both in terms of more app companies able to stay in business, and lower prices.

Apple knows that the competition is bad for them, and it’s why they’re trying to evade the law.
 
So, you're saying it's essentially just like property tax?

It doesn't matter if you already paid for a developer account/etc. because you're still on Apple's land, and you'd never be able to set up shop there if it weren't for Apple priming the "land" for you in the first place.
Plus, Apple is continually updating and maintaining the platform. That costs money to do. Everyone stating "what is the developer fee for?" is nuts to think $99 a year is going to support everything Apple does.

Plan and simple they want it for free. They want free land, and rights to setup shop however they want. They do not care about the customer at all. They just want people to sell to, and to make as much money selling to them as possible.
 
It’s not their iPhone. The consumer buys the phone. It is theirs. If they want to install viruses, set it on fire, etc they can do that.
It is the customers iPhone after they purchase it. Yes. However, the customer didn't make the iPhone. They bought it as it is, the way Apple made it. If they don't like how Apple made it or how it works. They don't have to buy it.
If they want to install Viruses on it, and know how to. They are able to. They are not allowed to distribute that across the iPhone using world. They can set it on fire if they want, or worse. They can't set "MY" iPhone on fire, as I didn't allow that.
Ultimately, giving Apple competition with other app stores will force them to lower their “tax” which will pass savings onto you, both in terms of more app companies able to stay in business, and lower prices.
It will not save you a euro cent. It never was or is about the consumer having "choice". It's about access to customers they otherwise would not have access too. All they want to do is make money off of you and save as much money doing it as possible. Apple tax isn't the issue. As if it was 1% cut, they would still want to do this.

They are all very comfortable selling direct to consumer in other ways, and want the same on the iPhone. Which it was never setup to do. It is setup to be protected, 1 store, 1 way onto the device. No need for a firewall or AV scanning to help protect you and others you know. Remember this is a PHONE first. It can compute, but it is a mobile phone. Small battery, smaller CPU/GPU/Memory/storage. You don't want your device performing like a desktop PC in your pocket. None of these companies care about how you feel about privacy rules or any PPI they want access to your data. Direct access, they don't have to follow any rules if they don't want to. Or care about some crap app on their store doing damage to your phone without you knowing.

Open has its advantages, and its downsides. Apple choose closed long long ago. Either you're OK with that or you not. If your not, pick Android. It's open, and built for that type of use.
 
We knew they wouldn't be happy with Apple's changes to meet DMA compliance. But this is a bit too late in the process for anything but continued scrutiny. But that applies to both sides also.
Epic Games wants a free-for-all of a system, like some game they sell, but without Apple-hosted loot boxes. If they're not making the money, why should anyone else?
 
Wish Spotify would put its money where its mouth is. Same with Sweeney and locking off Fortnite from other PC gaming stores.
 
Paying a yearly per-user fee just to run an app marketplace is straight up insane,

nope. you have to the option of selling memberships outside of the App Store and then make Apple pay for serving your app to billions.
 
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Surprised it took this long. Apple's "plan" was a blatant non-compliant middle finger. Instead of opening IOS to outside markets, they found ways to charge fees anyway. Agree or disagree with the EU's ruling, Apple did show some courage with the balls they have in their "compliance."
These companies are trying to ruin the secure and safe Apple platform. Il stop using Spotify. I don’t play games so epic won’t affect me.
 
You can either install alternative app stores or sideload. The app needs to be distributed by a trusted party however and all updates need to be notarised.

For example; a company can make a website and say "download our app here". But it won't give full control to the user.

Full control was never promised or intended by the regulation either.
What method did Apple implement to allow sideloading? As far as I know, you can only install apps through an App Store which is not sideloading
 
Have these companies even published their take of the apps they will be hosting? I know they’re not doing that for free…
There is no requirement that they should do it for free. If they charge the same as App Store, then why would anyone publish their apps on that store unless they offer other better services. These could include being friendly with developers, providing tools for development, treating developers with respect and probably giving them reasons for rejection so that they can rectify them and get the apps back on the store, and so on. If Apple is not doing this, shame on Apple.
 
LOL, I don't hear the citizens of the EU clamoring for the DMA. I don't hear anyone clamoring for the DMA or its like except tech geeks that want their alt-stores. Economy wise, lobbyists and bureaucrats FTW, can't beat 'em, regulate 'em!
Well, the European Parliament voted in favor of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on July 5, 2022, with 588 votes in favor, 11 against, and 31 abstentions. The Council of the European Union also endorsed the text in July 2022. So, yes, the citizens wanted it.
 
This is the case on every operating system, with the exception that here, more than anywhere else, you are forced to use the built-in mechanisms and even pay for them.
Many apps utilize QtFrameworks, GTK+ frameworks on macOS.

Oh look! Qt has frameworks for iOS.


And it costs money to use them.

 
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