4 ms·

This isnt a monopoly. As someone who has never bought an Apple product, I can safely say their monopolistic practices don't affect me. Stop buying Apple produ

This isnt a monopoly. As someone who has never bought an Apple product, I can safely say their monopolistic practices don't affect me. Stop buying Apple products. Its that simple.

gman83 7y ago
I don't buy Apple products (well not exactly true I have a MacBook but only because I'm forced to use that to build for iOS). But for my app which uses 1st party login or Facebook as an alternative I am now forced to provide Apple login. If Google follows suite I'll be forced to provide Google login on Android, etc. Probably I'll just end up removing all third party login too much of a hassle, although I'll definitely lose users.
- toomuchequate 7y ago
  This is my biggest fear btw, I am making an App, and I realize I am getting close to needing to buy an Apple product to hit compile (Javascript) and fix bugs. The only thing you can do is educate consumers on the evils of Apple and hope they make better decisions in the future.
  - zepto 7y ago
    What better decision can they make?
    - ddh1118wanted 7y ago
      Buy a competing product; that will help to erode the Apple monopoly. That's similar to what happened to Windows Phone. They opened up development towards the end since they could no longer justify forcing developers to behave the way they wanted; they simply didn't have the market share to enforce it.
- jackjeff 7y ago
  Shocker. I heard you are also forced to buy a Windows PC to write software for Windows!
  - zamalek 7y ago
    You aren't, you can now do that on Linux with .Net core (sans testing it).
    - MereInterest 7y ago
      Or could cross-compile it with mingw-w64.
    - jackjeff 7y ago
      Well if you’re happy with that then you can write your app with Xamarin Mono for iOS in Visual Studio. You can do it all in C# without even learning Swift or Objective C.
- dann0 7y ago
  I’m not trying to be a dick, I’m genuinely interested. Why would you make a product for a platform you don’t support? Feels like a vegan owning a hamburger shop. Is it the market size that keeps you in the iOS space? Are you on other platforms? What are the revenue/cost/effort ratios for each? Does it make sense to focus on non-iOS options?
  - clarky07 7y ago
    probably because it's the most profitable platform. iOS easily makes more money than Android even though it has less users. In my experience, it's not close.
MereInterest 7y ago
The OP's point is that a monopoly is not necessary in order for abusive anticompetitive behavior to occur.
pentae 7y ago
They have a monopoly on the hundreds of millions of people who have an iPhone, which are typically the wealthiest mobile consumers (Sorry Android guys). If I have a software service I need to deliver to my customers smartphone, and they happen to own an iPhone, then Apple has full control over how I can do business with them. All they have to do is allow sideloading of apps with big warnings as an option and they can run the app store however they want. Until then, it's bullshit.
- ckuhl 7y ago
  Do you ever wonder if Apple attracts the wealthiest mobile consumers because of the controlled user experience they provide?
- intopieces 7y ago
  The idea that a company has a monopoly on its own customers seems tautological to me. Doesn’t that mean every retail store has a monopoly on their customers because you can’t walk in and sell your own goods without their permission?
- dann0 7y ago
  That’s not what a monopoly is. It isn’t a misuse of market power to have a lot of customers. It’s ok to not like Apple or any company that doesn’t match your values, but it’s important to argue using the right terms and definitions, otherwise you sell yourself and your argue short. There are alternatives to offering an app for iOS. Web apps are an example. Releasing only for Android is also a valid choice. I don’t like paying for using a toll road, but if I want the benefit of a nice road, and a shorter travel time, I have to pay. If these benefits aren’t worth the price, I can use an alternative.

This isnt a monopoly. As someone who has never bought an Apple product, I can safely say their monopolistic practices don't affect me. Stop buying Apple products. Its that simple.

gman83 7y ago

I don't buy Apple products (well not exactly true I have a MacBook but only because I'm forced to use that to build for iOS). But for my app which uses 1st party login or Facebook as an alternative I am now forced to provide Apple login. If Google follows suite I'll be forced to provide Google login on Android, etc. Probably I'll just end up removing all third party login too much of a hassle, although I'll definitely lose users.

toomuchequate 7y ago
This is my biggest fear btw, I am making an App, and I realize I am getting close to needing to buy an Apple product to hit compile (Javascript) and fix bugs. The only thing you can do is educate consumers on the evils of Apple and hope they make better decisions in the future.
- zepto 7y ago
  What better decision can they make?
  - ddh1118wanted 7y ago
    Buy a competing product; that will help to erode the Apple monopoly. That's similar to what happened to Windows Phone. They opened up development towards the end since they could no longer justify forcing developers to behave the way they wanted; they simply didn't have the market share to enforce it.
jackjeff 7y ago
Shocker. I heard you are also forced to buy a Windows PC to write software for Windows!
- zamalek 7y ago
  You aren't, you can now do that on Linux with .Net core (sans testing it).
  - MereInterest 7y ago
    Or could cross-compile it with mingw-w64.
  - jackjeff 7y ago
    Well if you’re happy with that then you can write your app with Xamarin Mono for iOS in Visual Studio. You can do it all in C# without even learning Swift or Objective C.
dann0 7y ago
I’m not trying to be a dick, I’m genuinely interested. Why would you make a product for a platform you don’t support? Feels like a vegan owning a hamburger shop. Is it the market size that keeps you in the iOS space? Are you on other platforms? What are the revenue/cost/effort ratios for each? Does it make sense to focus on non-iOS options?
- clarky07 7y ago
  probably because it's the most profitable platform. iOS easily makes more money than Android even though it has less users. In my experience, it's not close.

MereInterest 7y ago

The OP's point is that a monopoly is not necessary in order for abusive anticompetitive behavior to occur.

pentae 7y ago

They have a monopoly on the hundreds of millions of people who have an iPhone, which are typically the wealthiest mobile consumers (Sorry Android guys). If I have a software service I need to deliver to my customers smartphone, and they happen to own an iPhone, then Apple has full control over how I can do business with them. All they have to do is allow sideloading of apps with big warnings as an option and they can run the app store however they want. Until then, it's bullshit.

ckuhl 7y ago
Do you ever wonder if Apple attracts the wealthiest mobile consumers because of the controlled user experience they provide?
intopieces 7y ago
The idea that a company has a monopoly on its own customers seems tautological to me. Doesn’t that mean every retail store has a monopoly on their customers because you can’t walk in and sell your own goods without their permission?
dann0 7y ago
That’s not what a monopoly is. It isn’t a misuse of market power to have a lot of customers. It’s ok to not like Apple or any company that doesn’t match your values, but it’s important to argue using the right terms and definitions, otherwise you sell yourself and your argue short. There are alternatives to offering an app for iOS. Web apps are an example. Releasing only for Android is also a valid choice. I don’t like paying for using a toll road, but if I want the benefit of a nice road, and a shorter travel time, I have to pay. If these benefits aren’t worth the price, I can use an alternative.