iPhone 1 came without an App Store, yet it was a success.
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Telegram CEO Accuses Apple of Destroying Dreams and Crushing Entrepreneurs
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I don't really have an issue with the 15% to 30% commissions, I have an issue with the anticompetitive restrictions Apple puts on its dominant mobile OS platform when it comes to things like alternative app stores, browser engines, sideloading, etc.
The government came down on Microsoft in the 1990s regarding its own OS (Windows) yet Windows provided greater flexibility (especially for end users) when it came to loading alternative software. Apple not only restricts alternative app stores, browser engines, etc. on iPhones/iOS they sell and those sold by third party retailers like AT&T, Best Buy, etc., but maintains similar restrictions on what end users can do.
The government came down on Microsoft in the 1990s regarding its own OS (Windows) yet Windows provided greater flexibility (especially for end users) when it came to loading alternative software. Apple not only restricts alternative app stores, browser engines, etc. on iPhones/iOS they sell and those sold by third party retailers like AT&T, Best Buy, etc., but maintains similar restrictions on what end users can do.
Exactly. Go to a per download fee and for sideloaded apps a per install fee. Charge for certificates. All of which increases upfront costs.
Exactly. Create barriers to entry for new entrants. Apple could, for smaller companies, change the fee structure to make it easier for them; for example offsetting fees against the 15% markup.
But yea, small developers could be collateral damage in this battle.
Then there is the piracy issue that sideloading creates. Look at the different way piracy drove the Android market. Yes, you can pirate iOS apps now, but it isn’t something an average user can easily do.
Apple provided a distribution platform with all the goodies for $99. Dev ops-in and agrees to T&C, including commission. Meanwhile in 2021 some devs get very greedy, even those that have made hundreds of millions.
Sure, the iphone 1 was at the wrong price point. However, what occured after the price was dropped and carrier subsidies kicked in.Of course it was, that's why they dropped the price
So it wasn't a success prior to the App Store then?
In fact they slashed the price by $200 within three months of launch.
Yes it was. It was a smashing success.
Yep and when Apple allowed an digital app store market place it took that smashing success and made it more successful. And everybody, all around, was reaping the benefits of the app store.
A fee for installing an app outside of the App Store?! On what planet is Apple entitled to a fee because someone installed an app that Apple did neither create nor distribute?
They are called "physical goods", and if you notice they will not sell Kindle books through their app.
You pay for everything you use, or there would not be a business. See also: "charity" and "not charity"
💯 - except the markup is higher than 30% - often much higher after all the different channels are accounted for.
How is it disproportionate? Compared to what? Physical goods? Do some research before you make ridiculous and easily debunked claims.
Except it does not, really. Only if you want the app to be a native iOS app. Webapps have been a thing longer than the App Store.
Why should other people profit off Apple's efforts to build the App Store ecosystem? See, it cuts both ways.
Do you realize that there is such a thing as a software platform? Are you saying Facebook is not a platform either?
Wrong. Apple is a hardware and software company. The are offering a digital platform that cost billions to maintain and a host of APIs, services and support that earns Apple their cut.
The same one that lets Epic charge 5% of revenue for using teh Unreal Engine; no matter how the revenue is derived. You want access to iOS features? Here’s the fee for a certificate that allows you to access them. You use Apple’s IP, you pay for it. Pretty simple.
Epic’s license scheme is one reason I think their stance is hypocritical.
5% vs 30% ..
Also if it is pretty simple and while we are discussing hypocrisy why does Apple frequently infringe patents?
Apple loses bid for third trial in $300 mln wireless patent case
Apple Inc failed to convince an East Texas court on Tuesday to hold a third trial after it was hit with a $300 million verdict for violating patent-holding company Optis Wireless Technology LLC's wireless-standard patent rights.
Apple infringed three Qualcomm patents, jury finds
Mobile phone chip supplier Qualcomm Inc on Friday won a legal victory against iPhone maker Apple Inc, with a jury in federal court in San Diego finding that Apple owes Qualcomm about $31 million for infringing three of its patents.
Apple Told to Pay $308.5 Million for Infringing DRM Patent
Apple must pay $308.5 million to closely held Personalized Media Communications after a federal jury in Marshall, Texas, decided on Friday that the tech giant infringed a patent related to digital rights management.
www.bloomberg.com
If they have desktop support. They should create a webapp and find their own customers. If they don’t need apple tech they should be signing up people directly on their platform and using a Free IOS app as a portal. Apple makes nothing from that.
They want to access Apple users and use apple technology to increase their revenue for free. Nothing is free!