3 ms·

It's not $99 a year to list an app in the store. We don't have to guess: Apple reports these numbers. They earned $11.5 billion in revenue from the app store i

It's not $99 a year to list an app in the store. We don't have to guess: Apple reports these numbers. They earned $11.5 billion in revenue from the app store in 2017. I'm not sure what you're expecting here. Apple clearly views their role as protecting users from the hostile aspects of the web: see content blockers, reader mode, anti-tracking features in iOS 12. Of course Apple is not going to jump on unrestricted JS background execution, unreviewable OTA-updatable tracking, etc. And of course Apple is going to focus their efforts on their native APIs.

judah 8y ago
Wow, even larger than my napkin calculations. So my assertion that the app store business is significant is correct. The problem with Apple, or any other big corporation, "protecting" users is that censorship is a two-edged sword. It's great that the iOS App Store doesn't suffer from, say, malware. It's not great that Apple has the final say over published content; Apple (or hostile governments forcing Apple) can block content for any reason; political, religious, or even vindictive. This is not merely theoretical[0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_Apple
- millstone 8y ago
  The App Store is a big business for sure. The "censorship" angle doesn't really fly. Apple doesn't censor any web content: all websites are accessible via iOS. The App Store is a different matter. Yes, Apple blocks the boobs and the baby-shaking games, like Amazon blocked the "Keep Calm and Rape" t-shirts. That's not censorship, that's a storefront owner exercising common sense in the products they choose to stock. Apple is in good company in limiting what can be installed. Chrome on iOS is hobbled, but Firefox on ChromeOS isn't even a thing, and Google Chromecast is even more locked down. Ultimately it comes down to this: Apple is not a monopoly but a minority player, and iOS users have made a conscious decision because of the value they've found in Apple's ecosystem. If you want access to that market, you have to make your products appeal to that userbase.

judah 8y ago

Wow, even larger than my napkin calculations. So my assertion that the app store business is significant is correct. The problem with Apple, or any other big corporation, "protecting" users is that censorship is a two-edged sword. It's great that the iOS App Store doesn't suffer from, say, malware. It's not great that Apple has the final say over published content; Apple (or hostile governments forcing Apple) can block content for any reason; political, religious, or even vindictive. This is not merely theoretical[0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_Apple

millstone 8y ago
The App Store is a big business for sure. The "censorship" angle doesn't really fly. Apple doesn't censor any web content: all websites are accessible via iOS. The App Store is a different matter. Yes, Apple blocks the boobs and the baby-shaking games, like Amazon blocked the "Keep Calm and Rape" t-shirts. That's not censorship, that's a storefront owner exercising common sense in the products they choose to stock. Apple is in good company in limiting what can be installed. Chrome on iOS is hobbled, but Firefox on ChromeOS isn't even a thing, and Google Chromecast is even more locked down. Ultimately it comes down to this: Apple is not a monopoly but a minority player, and iOS users have made a conscious decision because of the value they've found in Apple's ecosystem. If you want access to that market, you have to make your products appeal to that userbase.