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You’re Paying into a Broken System Whenever You Buy Something on iOS

163 points by quark33 7y ago

mikl 7y ago
> Posting article ranting against walled gardens on Medium The irony here is palpable ಠ_ಠ
talkingtab 7y ago
"For each card processed, a developer will pay an average processing fee of around 2% to 3%" My understanding is that credit card processors, Stripe for example, charge $0.30 + 2.9% of the transaction amount. So for an $0.99 purchase that is roughly 33 cents. On large purchases your statement is true, but in-app purchases average $0.99.
- patio11 7y ago
  This is one reason why microtransactions are often aggregated by either pre-selling a pseudocurrency or credit or by having the seller essentially extend you credit and capture payment after several microtransactions have gone by. You can see this on iTunes and the App Store; if you buy a song, you are unlikely to get billed for the song immediately. Apple will quietly keep a tab open for a few hours (or days!) and then wrap all purchases into a single transaction, which is much more economic for them.
gchokov 7y ago
I am happy buying stuff from the iOS store. It's convenient, quick and easy. No objection as an end user.
- alunchbox 7y ago
  Your views don't change even after learning that most of your purchases that are to support developers are being skimmed by 30% ? (similar situation to Steam but at least their development tools are nearly bug free, and really help development) The problem here is that they also charge 100 or $50 just to start developing on their platform...
  - scarface74 7y ago
    So did you buy software from retail when they were taking 60%? Do you buy music when the artist only gets pennies? Do you use Spotify where the artist gets even less? Do you realize that it costs thousands of dollars to develop for either the Playstation or Nintendo and you have to sign an NDA? Do you buy console games?
  - _ph_ 7y ago
    There is no charge to start development for iOS. The tools are available for any Mac owner.
    - fetus8 7y ago
      You're right, you can download and get started for free. But it costs $99/year to distribute on the App Store...
    - _ph_ 7y ago
      Sorry, this time I really don't get the downvotes. Did I say anything incorrect? If so, please correct me. If not, why am I downvoted?
      - auggierose 7y ago
        Because there are many on here who consider paying $100 for being able to distribute on the App Store outrageous. They don't realise that just putting in 1 hour of your development time to create something usually costs more than that.
        _ph_ 7y ago
        The point is, you don't need to pay to develop an app, you only need to pay for submitting it into the app store. So perhaps I should have added a disclaimer to my statement and not just limit it to precisely what I expressed. I did not intend to make a statement about the submission fee.
  - inscionent 7y ago
- crazygringo 7y ago
  Wouldn't you be happier if prices were 25% lower? Maybe you're not objecting because you don't know how much better the alternative could be?
  - ch_sm 7y ago
    Prices on the iOS AppStore are already almost unsustainably low.
  - hprotagonist 7y ago
    if the alternative is a malware-infested google play store where every second app phones home 900 times a day or whatever, i think i'll pass. I'm making my iOS walled garden choice with open eyes. I'm happy to sideload apps if they're worth it; so far the only one i found that I cared enough about to do this with was Blink, and i wound up buying it on the app store afterwards so the developers could get their cut.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    I’m not objecting because I know the alternative of not using a walled garden (Windows and Android) and I have wasted too much of my life dealing with its issues. I’d pay 25% more if I had to because the time it has saved me and my family is priceless.
  - magashna 7y ago
    The user will never get the benefit of savings up the chain. That's not going to happen so don't act like it's an option.
- trilila 7y ago
  Not to mention it prevents piracy and it is significantly more safe than downloading off of random websites.
- FerretFred 7y ago
  I used to be happy, but now, not so much due to the increasing trend of subscriptions. Yes I know developers have a living to make, but when you end up potentially paying $50 a year for an SSH client it no longer works for me. Why not charge a realistic one-time fee for an app and then I'll gladly pay.
  - moksly 7y ago
    Does this have anything to do with Apple and their walled garden though? To me it sounds more like a business opportunity to make a SSH client and sell it at a realistic one-time fee to people like you (and me by the way) who are sick of subscriptions. But can’t that be done within he current ecosystem?
    - ubercow13 7y ago
      One issue is that apps seem to require much more ongoing maintenance just to continue working on iOS. Most of the Windows software I bought 10 or even 20 years ago would probably still work on my current PC, but apps I bought only a few years ago are no longer working for me or have become unavailable on the app store because the developer stopped putting in continuous effort to keep up with iOS.
- Wowfunhappy 7y ago
  Great! Let the iOS App Store compete in the free market on its own merits. I suspect it will do quite well—it's installed on all phones by default, and consumers trust it (for good reason). The App Store should not be the only way to get software on an iPhone, sans literally hacking the device.
  - jordanpg 7y ago
    They are competing in the free market. Users are free to not use their software and there are many other choices. You seem to be objecting to the manner in which they compete.
    - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
      > You seem to be objecting to the manner in which they compete. I absolutely am! There is such a thing as unfair competition. As I see it, Apple is using their existing dominance to create barriers to entry for new players. I'm free to avoid Amazon too, but as increasing amounts of society move to Amazon as the de-facto web store for everything, how reasonable is it to fully boycott them? Sure it's possible, but it would be a substantial life commitment.
      - PascLeRasc 7y ago
        Many of us are boycotting Amazon by accident, I don't think it's a substantial life commitment. What have you wanted to buy from Amazon that you can't find elsewhere?
      - reaperducer 7y ago
        Apple is using their existing dominance to create barriers to entry for new players. The number one phone manufacturer is Samsung, not Apple. Huawei is number two.
      - IOT_Apprentice 7y ago
        Both Samsung and Huawei build more phones than Apple does. There are more Android phones than iOS phones, so exactly who has market dominance? No one is forcing you to buy Apple products. I'll take a more secure and privacy focused platform.
- CaptainMarvel 7y ago
  I’m unhappy because Apple has prevented me from using my phone how I want to. I recognised Spotify’s published complaints against Apple 2-3 years before they spoke out. I vowed to never use or buy Apple Music, Apple Watch, HomePod, and even a new iPhone because Apple were degrading my experience with Spotify compared to their own services. They deliberately created an unfair playing field on their platform in order to make more money. This problem is the same. How can Spotify compete with Apple in a completely separate industry like Music when Apple takes a 15-30% cut? How can Netflix compete? Apple is using their position to expand into other areas of business. This is bad for competition, and what is bad for competition is generally bad for people. Sure, Apple has a great, safe experience with the store and in-app purchases, but that is no reason to prevent other flows. Why can I not decide for myself whether to use an App’s “alternative” payment system?
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Apple doesn’t take a cut of a Spotify subscription. Spotify hasn’t allowed in app subscriptions for years. Can I sideload music and integrate it with my Spotify library like I can with Apple Music? Can an artist get included in the Spotify library without giving them a 30% cut? Apple is introducing cellular streaming in WatchOS 5 and music intents with Siri in iOS 13. This problem is the same. How can Spotify compete with Apple in a completely separate industry like Music when Apple takes a 15-30% cut? How can Netflix compete? Netflix also stopped allowing in app subscriptions recently.
    - CaptainMarvel 7y ago
      I feel like you missed the point. The choices are: give Apple 30%, or do not even so much as hint to the users that they can subscribe on the website. Either option cripples the service compared to Apple’s service.
      - scarface74 7y ago
        No, the parent poster said that Spotify and Netflix had to give Apple a cut. Not only do they not have to, they don’t anymore. The parent post stated something that was factually incorrect. Seeing that Spotify still grew steadily after not allowing in app subscriptions. It doesn’t seem like their growth was harmed.
- post_break 7y ago
  Imagine if they had a refund process like Android. I'd buy way more stuff. But because I can't try an app and make sure it's not fake or advertises it does x but really only does y I'm scrooge mcduck. I've bought way more apps on Android because of this.
  - a-wu 7y ago
    There is a refund process[0]. I generally don’t play games on my phone or use non-essential apps so I haven’t used it often but it has always worked for me. [0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084
  - dangus 7y ago
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 Not as instant/universally approved as Google's system but there is a process.
    - post_break 7y ago
      That's clunky and annoying. Just being able to delete the app within 2 hours is what I'd like.
- Carpetsmoker 7y ago
  Apple doesn't allow me to buy anything on my iPhone, as I got my phone in New Zealand, have a British Revolut CC card and phone number, then was in the Netherlands for a while, and am now living in Ireland. I had to switch the region to Netherlands to install the (free) RyanAir app (why?!) which was rather annoying since then it started offering Dutch suggestions for stuff (which I don't want). I can't add my UK CC to my account though as it's not a Dutch one, so I switched to the UK region, and then it errors out with "your account is not valid for use in the UK store. You must switch to the Dutch store before purchasing". Why ...? I don't know. I had a similar problem with the RyanAir app: I switched to Dutch store and then got "your account is not valid for use in the Dutch store. You must switch to the New Zealand store". I forgot how I fixed that. The reason they have all these restrictions is presumably so I can't use a cheaper store to but stuff. While this isn't the sort of "broken" that the article talks about, effectively, the iOS store is broken for me. That's always the problems with these kind of restrictions: they also block legitimate use for people who don't fall neatly in your expected audience. I had similar problems ordering a new charger for my ThinkPad in NZ, as I had to use a NZ-based CC to get it delivered to a NZ address :-/ I find this kind of bullshit a super annoying way to waste my time. I never had these kind of problems with the Android store, and as soon as there's an updated Android phone that's not larger than some TVs I've owned (iPhone SE is good size) I'm getting an Android phone again (not that I have a particular love for Android, it's just "less bad").
  - reaperducer 7y ago
    I can't add my UK CC to my account though as it's not a Dutch one, so I switched to the UK region, and then it errors out with "your account is not valid for use in the UK store. You must switch to the Dutch store before purchasing". Why ...? I don't know. Because content licensed for a particular geographic region. I mix regions, too. It's not rocket surgery. You just have multiple iTunes accounts, which are as easy to create as buying an iTunes card while you're in that country and loading it into a new account. I have US, UK, French, and Japanese iTunes accounts, and have no problems making purchases from any of them because each has an independent country-specific payment source. You can have up to five on a device. It's something Apple has supported from the beginning.
ChristianBundy 7y ago
Non-paywall link: https://web.archive.org/web/20190729173504/https://onezero.medium.com/youre-paying-into-a-broken-system-whenever-you-buy-something-on-ios-3f3aa88ecf8c https://web.archive.org/web/20190729173504/https://onezero.m...
JustSomeNobody 7y ago
"Solution" Something something "... should..." something something "... should..." That's not a solution. That's not even hope. That's dreaming.
docker_up 7y ago
Sorry, but the blog post is a hard sell. It's obviously from an app developer that would prefer not to jump through the hoops of the App Store, but as a customer, I like it. It's not perfect but it appears to be much, much better than Google version. What I don't like is the limited app discovery, and the bad rules in terms of apps just taking names and causing a lot of confusion so that I'm not sure if that's the app I really want to install.
_ph_ 7y ago
There are many facets to this. First of all, the App Store performs a range of services. Payment processing, the app review, hosting. For the user it is a trusted platform, where credit card numbers are not transmitted to arbitrary locations on the web, the app review and the ability to withdraw malicious applications do offer quite some protection. From this side, the App Store fee can be justified. Whether it is reasonable or to high depends on many parameters. A fair solution would be to have the fee start at 30% and decline with sales numbers, as the review process doesn't increase. Of course, large commercial entities, who do have their own servers/payment processors and don't need a trusted site to host their apps are less happy with the policies. But beyond the discussion about the fee, there is the aspect that Apple prevents all software installations from outside the app store. This is something which has to change as Apple isn't only protecting against malware, but also limits a lot of benign applications from being available on iOS. The first thing coming to my mind is Termux, which would instantly make an iPad much more usable. And extending that, a whole range of development tools could run way better on the iPad than it is allowed on the App Store. Just imagine a Linux VM running on the iPad... Apple should (or should be forced by regulators) to offer a Gatekeeper-like solution on the iPad/iPhone which gives the users a reasonable amount of control about their devices. And there is of course the content question. Apple tries to enforce their idea of "morale" onto the users. This is fine for their storefront, so to say, but there should be a section in the App Store for adult content. Especially the safe payment process would make this a very attractive service. If Apple wants to keep the "service" story alive for the App Store, they should craft their services according to the user demands, not to their ideas of what users should consume and install.
Wowfunhappy 7y ago
> Here’s the thing: If you’re a developer for iOS or macOS and want to charge customers money, the Apple-provided payment tools, which demand a 30% cut, are the only ones you’re allowed to use. It’s not even a discussion. Why does macOS keep getting offhandedly roped into these discussions? Not only is the Mac App Store not a requirement, it's rarely used. Maybe Apple intends to change that some day, but that's speculation, not reality. And frankly, from where I sit, people have been predicting the demise of macOS sideloading for nearly a decade now, and they're still waiting.
- natch 7y ago
  >Why does macOS keep getting offhandedly roped in... Because the people who write these screeds are ignorant. Apple has good reasons for doing things the way it does, and instead of acknowledging and addressing those reasons, the authors usually project onto Apple some made up evil, greedy intentions that don’t exist except in the mind of the writer. In this deluded world it must be the case that Apple does the same with macOS... they don’t even bother to check. Haters gonna hate.
- nothis 7y ago
  >Maybe Apple intends to change that some day, but that's speculation, not reality. I'd say it's pretty obvious that this is a desired outcome on Apple's part. You can either wait until it's too late or bring it up before it's happening.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    So if it is the “desired outcome” why is it taking them over a decade? The Mac App Store was introduced in 10.6 - 7 releases ago.
    - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
      I obviously agree with you, but tiny nitpick—the App Store was not introduced in 10.6, it was added in a 10.6 point release. So your "7 releases ago" statement isn't quite accurate, although it depends on how you count.
blub 7y ago
The mobile app markets are operating at such scales, that there's a literal avalanche of scammers and assholes waiting to take advantage of you. There is zero chance that I would send personal info or payment data to some no-name app and even most of the other well known apps.
- hindsightbias 7y ago
  Correlation may not be causation, but I have a four year old CC that is just used for online subscriptins and purchases (netflix, hbo, apple, amazon, intuit, airlines, phone). Friday AM, I threw caution to the wind and used it at a smaller retailer site and software vendor. Within an hour I had a notice from my bank that my cc information had been exposed and a new card was being sent to me. I don’t like a world where I have to be paranoid and minimize the vendors who get my sacred numbers/business, but from the headlines and experience not many others are willing to be paranoid enough about security for me.
- dwild 7y ago
  > There is zero chance that I would send personal info or payment data to some no-name app and even most of the other well known apps. Then don't... It never stopped me from giving my credit card number to Amazon. I gained quite a bit from that and never had to give 30% to Apple to gain from it. I did have to give 2.5% to Visa though, but they did provide a pretty good service to justify that 2.5%.
nerdjon 7y ago
>On no other platform would we accept a scenario where the owner of that platform dictated not only the tools developers can use, but restricted the ways they talk about their products and pricing. We would call it unfair, monopolistic, and overbearing. But on our smartphones, it’s just a fact of life. I am pretty sure game consoles have been doing this basically since their existence. None of them allow you to make 'A' rated games for example. (Considering the topic of the article, it should be obvious I am referring to "restricted the ways they talk about their products and pricing" here) Retail stores keep some amount of control over signage, I doubt Walmart would be particularly happy if a sign said you could buy X device cheaper directly from the manufacturer. In reality Apple is continuing a trend that is normal for store fronts, digital or physical. However, the "walled garden" of Apple is largely why I stick with iOS. I don't want to be forced to trust every company with my credit card information (a developer implementing their own payment system will be an immediate delete for me, with very few exception... like Amazon for obvious reasons). Also lets not forget that we keep seeing reports that iOS users are more likely to spend money than Android users. I would argue that the increased income from users makes up for the 30% cut.
- vbezhenar 7y ago
  > I don't want to be forced to trust every company with my credit card information This problem is solved with Paypal.
  - TheRealPomax 7y ago
    And modern banks that offer their customers "one time use" credit card numbers that you load up with an exact amount, and expire after a few hours if not collected on by a third party.
    - PakG1 7y ago
      Stripe gets no love? :)
      - Operyl 7y ago
eeeeeeeeeeeee 7y ago
Disagree. Every system has problems. Look at what happened with Zoom — unrestricted access to your entire user account on MacOS, for them to do whatever they want. Normal people should not have to even think about a virus or malware scanner on their system. I like where Apple is going and I like the iOS model. Most of all, I know that people like my parents will be better protected from malware and spyware and crypto extortion.
- yepthatsreality 7y ago
  Except this ignores the fact that there has been spyware and malware on Apple's store. Which perhaps gets removed eventually, but what about services that sell your data to the highest bidder without Apple's knowledge? Apple's offered security is relative to their definition of security. All it takes is your parents to install a malicious app that passed the app review. Deferring to Apple as some sort of security baby-sitter is just lazy and blind to the truth.
  - eeeeeeeeeeeee 7y ago
    Like I said, no system is perfect. But let’s be real — which OS model is likely to better secure them and limit the damage? It’s objectively clear it’s iOS. iCloud backups make recovering from the damage much easier too. Backing up MacOS or Windows is still not easy. Even if they installed a malicious app on iOS, the damage is still limited because of the security model of iOS. I definitely understand the concern of centralizing everything around one provider, but I’m just pointing out that these systems win because, on the whole, they are a better experience for users. It’s why Facebook wins, and it’s why closed systems continue to crush open ones.
    - yepthatsreality 7y ago
      > It’s why Facebook wins, and it’s why closed systems continue to crush open ones. There's a bit too much going on in your response, so...I greatly disagree on many levels and I feel this statement is a good lead as to why.
  - 7y ago
endorphone 7y ago
App Store cash is often significantly discounted. You can often buy $100 iTunes cards for $83 at Costco, for instance. This spurs on a lot of spend on the platform given that it becomes a staple gift choice for a lot of younger relatives. Further this is all very hand-wavy about abuse without mentioning the benefits that very same platform provides. It makes the whole discussion around it completely specious because it's inventing a victimization.
zxcvbn4038 7y ago
Even if Apple takes 30%, that’s still 70% that the app developer wouldn’t have if the App store didn’t exist. Without the App Store we would still depend on publishers to put us into stores, ask any author how that worked out for them.
fhood 7y ago
As an end user I approve of the walled garden. I don't mind the limitations on other forms of payment. I think it helps prevent fraud and insecure transactions, and I like the freedom and ease of use that comes with knowing that apps on the ios store went through a fairly substantial review process. As a developer (though it has been a few years since I wrote code for mobile) Apple's tools, documentation and libraries were so much better than Google's, though that may say more about Google than Apple. And I approve of app store revenue supporting those tools. But 30% is really, really high. I don't work for Apple, or Google for that matter, so I have no insight into what portion of the money goes to the services mentioned above, but it seems to me that even 20% would be pretty hard to swallow, and 30% seems unreasonable. I would love to hear from someone with actual knowledge of this how much of that app store revenue is profit.
- tomduncalf 7y ago
  >As a developer (though it has been a few years since I wrote code for mobile) Apple's tools, documentation and libraries were so much better than Google's This is still very much true IME, Android Studio has much more frequent random issues and is generally slower and harder to work with than Xcode (I use both every day)
- swebs 7y ago
  >But 30% is really, really high Interestingly, that's about the average income tax rate. I wonder if Apple and Uncle Sam both independently came to the same conclusion that that's the highest amount that they can get away with without hitting the tipping point.
  - lancesells 7y ago
    It's not Apple it's everyone. Sell an eBook on Amazon - 35 to 70% royalty. I'm sure there are some outliers but most are right in that range. I think physical products seem to be less than digital ones: Ebay ~10%, Etsy ~5%.
    - ramses0 7y ago
jeksus 7y ago
He is complaining about payments in Apple Store using annoyingly paywalled medium. As an iOS Developer I think that's 30% cut is fair and it works. Just look at sales numbers on iOS vs Android. Most of sales comes from iOS. As a user I hate then devs decide to skip MacOS store. For me it means I have to use some 3rd party payment and license management solution so they can save some money.
jmuguy 7y ago
I know its snarky but complaining about Apple's walled garden via a post on Medium makes me chuckle.
- ctrl-j 7y ago
  It's especially funny to me, since I apparently have exceeded my monthly premium medium article limit - and would need to pay to actually read this.
  - NietTim 7y ago
    I didn't even know that was a thing before clicking on this article
  - collyw 7y ago
    Does "open in a private window" work?
    - tasuki 7y ago
      Yes, but, why should I have to do that? I'm not even angry at Medium, business do what business have to do. But why do people willingly post their content on Medium where it gets walled? To begin with, there's WordPress - and countless other alternatives.
      - aocenas 7y ago
        I think you need to opt in for your article to be behind paywall and if you do that you get some share from that. So it is basically people wanting to make money from what they write.
        tasuki 7y ago
        Ah ok, so everyone is being rational - that's awesome to hear, thanks! :)
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dangus 7y ago
I had a while ago calculated the actual download cost with S3's pricing on what each ~100MB Spotify update would cost if it was self hosted. Assuming each paid and free Spotify customer on the iOS platform updated the app was something to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars depending on how you estimate the marketshare of iOS for Spotify versus their other platforms. What the App Store provides is not valueless, quite the opposite in fact. It's an entire system of distribution management. Is it monopolistic? By definition, no, because Android is the #1 smartphone platform in the world. Is it great that Apple has provided no alternative way of downloading software to the iPhone and iPad? No, that's not great either, but users knew that from day one (when the iPhone had no App Store at all). In reality, iOS is no different than a game console like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, and yet we consider those closed marketplaces completely functional and normal. If Apple was the only company making smartphones or if they even made a plurality of them, perhaps this would be a problem.
- mattnewton 7y ago
  > Is it monopolistic? By definition, no, because Android is the #1 smartphone platform in the world. This depends on how you describe the market. Is the market smartphone users or is it iOS apps? If you are in the market to buy an iOS app, you must go through apple, which would suggest it is a monopoly. IANAL but this has precedence - think of the “windows browser market” that Microsoft was raked over the coals about. The fact that you could buy a Mac or run Linux didn’t appease the courts IIRC. I find a lot of value in the iOS App Store and think it is just like a game console, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be viewed as a monopoly _for iOS apps_
  - dangus 7y ago
    Microsoft was raked over the coals because they actually possessed a pure monopoly. In 2002 Internet Explorer had a 96.6% browser marketshare. [1] In 1999 Microsoft Windows made up around 95% of desktop operating systems in use. [2] In terms of antitrust law, IANAL but, I think you'd have a harder time convincing a court that the App Store is a monopoly of any sort. I don't think you can just break down markets into sections like that and claim they have a monopoly on that section. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers#OneStat.com_(April_2002_to_March_2009) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers#On... [2] https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/19/technology/microsoft/ https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/19/technology/microsoft/
klauslovgreen 7y ago
The restrictions and policy applied by Apple and to some extend Google makes it very hard to get traction, particularly for smaller developers. It feels extremely risky to develop high-budget new apps in this environment as there is a real chance the app will be rejected in order to comply with hard to understand limitations or end up not being allowed to be published at all.
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ericls 7y ago
I pay taxes
PascLeRasc 7y ago
I noticed that the author published this on a website that implements a paywall, doesn't allow much control over the look of their column, and tries to make you log into an official Medium account to read. I wonder why that is, if they're championing the open ecosystem so much?
grandridge 7y ago
all this whining about things not being fair. they created it, you use it. stop whining. I dont like it, I dont use it, simple. It didn't exist before, it doesn't need to exist, and its purpose of existence is not to be fair to you. this country is turning into a bunch of bitches
bigend 7y ago
You could replace iOS with Android, altough it is even more broken though. Just in worse ways. Hello arbitary dev account bans with no human to answer. Byebye privacy.
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securityfreak 7y ago
I believe Apple users choose the Apple ecosystem specifically because they value the protection the App Store provides. I can't even imagine the nightmare if every app was allowed to redirect me to their website, register there and enter payment information before I can start using their app. This system would be abused as hell. The in-app purchases are transparent (I can review all my transaction in one single place) and I can approve my child's purchases remotely. Also I am sure if the roles were switched, Spotify would no way in hell allow Apple Music to be priced the same way on their App Store for their ecosystem users. It's hypocrisy. I agree 30% might be too much, but it's their App Store, their users, their infrastructure, their public trust at stake, their rules.
CameronBanga 7y ago
Is anyone familiar enough with Medium to know why someone would publish their blog on the platform, and lock users behind a paywall in order to read their blogposts? Do they get a cut? I'm not even sure of price, but just see a screen that lets me know I've hit the end of my "Member Preview".
josefrichter 7y ago
"monopolistic"? doesn't Apple have around 10% market share?
Brendinooo 7y ago
It's worth going back to the App Store reveal video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo9cKe_Fch8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo9cKe_Fch8 30% might be high, and there's certainly a case to be made for conflict of interest in the Netflix/Spotify arena, but the App Store is solving a lot of problems: it's a single, universal way to get an app out to every iThing, it manages updates, and there's no nickel-and-diming in terms of processing fees or hosting or anything like that. I thought it was in that keynote but maybe not: I remember someone comparing a 30% cut to the costs associated with getting a physical copy onto retail shelf, and if I recall correctly it was in the same universe.
drudru11 7y ago
Literally Can’t read. Medium wants me to sign in to see content. Nope.
sharno 7y ago
Apple's ecosystem is one of the best out there actually, pretty seamless experience with little flaws here and there that are ok to live with or they get fixed slowly. Compare that to the alternatives and you'll find it marginally better

163 points by quark33 7y ago

mikl 7y ago

> Posting article ranting against walled gardens on Medium The irony here is palpable ಠ_ಠ

"For each card processed, a developer will pay an average processing fee of around 2% to 3%" My understanding is that credit card processors, Stripe for example, charge $0.30 + 2.9% of the transaction amount. So for an $0.99 purchase that is roughly 33 cents. On large purchases your statement is true, but in-app purchases average $0.99.

patio11 7y ago
This is one reason why microtransactions are often aggregated by either pre-selling a pseudocurrency or credit or by having the seller essentially extend you credit and capture payment after several microtransactions have gone by. You can see this on iTunes and the App Store; if you buy a song, you are unlikely to get billed for the song immediately. Apple will quietly keep a tab open for a few hours (or days!) and then wrap all purchases into a single transaction, which is much more economic for them.

gchokov 7y ago

I am happy buying stuff from the iOS store. It's convenient, quick and easy. No objection as an end user.

alunchbox 7y ago
Your views don't change even after learning that most of your purchases that are to support developers are being skimmed by 30% ? (similar situation to Steam but at least their development tools are nearly bug free, and really help development) The problem here is that they also charge 100 or $50 just to start developing on their platform...
- scarface74 7y ago
  So did you buy software from retail when they were taking 60%? Do you buy music when the artist only gets pennies? Do you use Spotify where the artist gets even less? Do you realize that it costs thousands of dollars to develop for either the Playstation or Nintendo and you have to sign an NDA? Do you buy console games?
- _ph_ 7y ago
  There is no charge to start development for iOS. The tools are available for any Mac owner.
  - fetus8 7y ago
    You're right, you can download and get started for free. But it costs $99/year to distribute on the App Store...
  - _ph_ 7y ago
    Sorry, this time I really don't get the downvotes. Did I say anything incorrect? If so, please correct me. If not, why am I downvoted?
    - auggierose 7y ago
      Because there are many on here who consider paying $100 for being able to distribute on the App Store outrageous. They don't realise that just putting in 1 hour of your development time to create something usually costs more than that.
      - _ph_ 7y ago
        The point is, you don't need to pay to develop an app, you only need to pay for submitting it into the app store. So perhaps I should have added a disclaimer to my statement and not just limit it to precisely what I expressed. I did not intend to make a statement about the submission fee.
- inscionent 7y ago
crazygringo 7y ago
Wouldn't you be happier if prices were 25% lower? Maybe you're not objecting because you don't know how much better the alternative could be?
- ch_sm 7y ago
  Prices on the iOS AppStore are already almost unsustainably low.
- hprotagonist 7y ago
  if the alternative is a malware-infested google play store where every second app phones home 900 times a day or whatever, i think i'll pass. I'm making my iOS walled garden choice with open eyes. I'm happy to sideload apps if they're worth it; so far the only one i found that I cared enough about to do this with was Blink, and i wound up buying it on the app store afterwards so the developers could get their cut.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  I’m not objecting because I know the alternative of not using a walled garden (Windows and Android) and I have wasted too much of my life dealing with its issues. I’d pay 25% more if I had to because the time it has saved me and my family is priceless.
- magashna 7y ago
  The user will never get the benefit of savings up the chain. That's not going to happen so don't act like it's an option.
trilila 7y ago
Not to mention it prevents piracy and it is significantly more safe than downloading off of random websites.
FerretFred 7y ago
I used to be happy, but now, not so much due to the increasing trend of subscriptions. Yes I know developers have a living to make, but when you end up potentially paying $50 a year for an SSH client it no longer works for me. Why not charge a realistic one-time fee for an app and then I'll gladly pay.
- moksly 7y ago
  Does this have anything to do with Apple and their walled garden though? To me it sounds more like a business opportunity to make a SSH client and sell it at a realistic one-time fee to people like you (and me by the way) who are sick of subscriptions. But can’t that be done within he current ecosystem?
  - ubercow13 7y ago
    One issue is that apps seem to require much more ongoing maintenance just to continue working on iOS. Most of the Windows software I bought 10 or even 20 years ago would probably still work on my current PC, but apps I bought only a few years ago are no longer working for me or have become unavailable on the app store because the developer stopped putting in continuous effort to keep up with iOS.
Wowfunhappy 7y ago
Great! Let the iOS App Store compete in the free market on its own merits. I suspect it will do quite well—it's installed on all phones by default, and consumers trust it (for good reason). The App Store should not be the only way to get software on an iPhone, sans literally hacking the device.
- jordanpg 7y ago
  They are competing in the free market. Users are free to not use their software and there are many other choices. You seem to be objecting to the manner in which they compete.
  - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
    > You seem to be objecting to the manner in which they compete. I absolutely am! There is such a thing as unfair competition. As I see it, Apple is using their existing dominance to create barriers to entry for new players. I'm free to avoid Amazon too, but as increasing amounts of society move to Amazon as the de-facto web store for everything, how reasonable is it to fully boycott them? Sure it's possible, but it would be a substantial life commitment.
    - PascLeRasc 7y ago
      Many of us are boycotting Amazon by accident, I don't think it's a substantial life commitment. What have you wanted to buy from Amazon that you can't find elsewhere?
    - reaperducer 7y ago
      Apple is using their existing dominance to create barriers to entry for new players. The number one phone manufacturer is Samsung, not Apple. Huawei is number two.
    - IOT_Apprentice 7y ago
      Both Samsung and Huawei build more phones than Apple does. There are more Android phones than iOS phones, so exactly who has market dominance? No one is forcing you to buy Apple products. I'll take a more secure and privacy focused platform.
CaptainMarvel 7y ago
I’m unhappy because Apple has prevented me from using my phone how I want to. I recognised Spotify’s published complaints against Apple 2-3 years before they spoke out. I vowed to never use or buy Apple Music, Apple Watch, HomePod, and even a new iPhone because Apple were degrading my experience with Spotify compared to their own services. They deliberately created an unfair playing field on their platform in order to make more money. This problem is the same. How can Spotify compete with Apple in a completely separate industry like Music when Apple takes a 15-30% cut? How can Netflix compete? Apple is using their position to expand into other areas of business. This is bad for competition, and what is bad for competition is generally bad for people. Sure, Apple has a great, safe experience with the store and in-app purchases, but that is no reason to prevent other flows. Why can I not decide for myself whether to use an App’s “alternative” payment system?
- scarface74 7y ago
  Apple doesn’t take a cut of a Spotify subscription. Spotify hasn’t allowed in app subscriptions for years. Can I sideload music and integrate it with my Spotify library like I can with Apple Music? Can an artist get included in the Spotify library without giving them a 30% cut? Apple is introducing cellular streaming in WatchOS 5 and music intents with Siri in iOS 13. This problem is the same. How can Spotify compete with Apple in a completely separate industry like Music when Apple takes a 15-30% cut? How can Netflix compete? Netflix also stopped allowing in app subscriptions recently.
  - CaptainMarvel 7y ago
    I feel like you missed the point. The choices are: give Apple 30%, or do not even so much as hint to the users that they can subscribe on the website. Either option cripples the service compared to Apple’s service.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      No, the parent poster said that Spotify and Netflix had to give Apple a cut. Not only do they not have to, they don’t anymore. The parent post stated something that was factually incorrect. Seeing that Spotify still grew steadily after not allowing in app subscriptions. It doesn’t seem like their growth was harmed.
post_break 7y ago
Imagine if they had a refund process like Android. I'd buy way more stuff. But because I can't try an app and make sure it's not fake or advertises it does x but really only does y I'm scrooge mcduck. I've bought way more apps on Android because of this.
- a-wu 7y ago
  There is a refund process[0]. I generally don’t play games on my phone or use non-essential apps so I haven’t used it often but it has always worked for me. [0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084
- dangus 7y ago
  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204084 Not as instant/universally approved as Google's system but there is a process.
  - post_break 7y ago
    That's clunky and annoying. Just being able to delete the app within 2 hours is what I'd like.
Carpetsmoker 7y ago
Apple doesn't allow me to buy anything on my iPhone, as I got my phone in New Zealand, have a British Revolut CC card and phone number, then was in the Netherlands for a while, and am now living in Ireland. I had to switch the region to Netherlands to install the (free) RyanAir app (why?!) which was rather annoying since then it started offering Dutch suggestions for stuff (which I don't want). I can't add my UK CC to my account though as it's not a Dutch one, so I switched to the UK region, and then it errors out with "your account is not valid for use in the UK store. You must switch to the Dutch store before purchasing". Why ...? I don't know. I had a similar problem with the RyanAir app: I switched to Dutch store and then got "your account is not valid for use in the Dutch store. You must switch to the New Zealand store". I forgot how I fixed that. The reason they have all these restrictions is presumably so I can't use a cheaper store to but stuff. While this isn't the sort of "broken" that the article talks about, effectively, the iOS store is broken for me. That's always the problems with these kind of restrictions: they also block legitimate use for people who don't fall neatly in your expected audience. I had similar problems ordering a new charger for my ThinkPad in NZ, as I had to use a NZ-based CC to get it delivered to a NZ address :-/ I find this kind of bullshit a super annoying way to waste my time. I never had these kind of problems with the Android store, and as soon as there's an updated Android phone that's not larger than some TVs I've owned (iPhone SE is good size) I'm getting an Android phone again (not that I have a particular love for Android, it's just "less bad").
- reaperducer 7y ago
  I can't add my UK CC to my account though as it's not a Dutch one, so I switched to the UK region, and then it errors out with "your account is not valid for use in the UK store. You must switch to the Dutch store before purchasing". Why ...? I don't know. Because content licensed for a particular geographic region. I mix regions, too. It's not rocket surgery. You just have multiple iTunes accounts, which are as easy to create as buying an iTunes card while you're in that country and loading it into a new account. I have US, UK, French, and Japanese iTunes accounts, and have no problems making purchases from any of them because each has an independent country-specific payment source. You can have up to five on a device. It's something Apple has supported from the beginning.

ChristianBundy 7y ago

Non-paywall link: https://web.archive.org/web/20190729173504/https://onezero.medium.com/youre-paying-into-a-broken-system-whenever-you-buy-something-on-ios-3f3aa88ecf8c https://web.archive.org/web/20190729173504/https://onezero.m...

JustSomeNobody 7y ago

"Solution" Something something "... should..." something something "... should..." That's not a solution. That's not even hope. That's dreaming.

docker_up 7y ago

Sorry, but the blog post is a hard sell. It's obviously from an app developer that would prefer not to jump through the hoops of the App Store, but as a customer, I like it. It's not perfect but it appears to be much, much better than Google version. What I don't like is the limited app discovery, and the bad rules in terms of apps just taking names and causing a lot of confusion so that I'm not sure if that's the app I really want to install.

_ph_ 7y ago

There are many facets to this. First of all, the App Store performs a range of services. Payment processing, the app review, hosting. For the user it is a trusted platform, where credit card numbers are not transmitted to arbitrary locations on the web, the app review and the ability to withdraw malicious applications do offer quite some protection. From this side, the App Store fee can be justified. Whether it is reasonable or to high depends on many parameters. A fair solution would be to have the fee start at 30% and decline with sales numbers, as the review process doesn't increase. Of course, large commercial entities, who do have their own servers/payment processors and don't need a trusted site to host their apps are less happy with the policies. But beyond the discussion about the fee, there is the aspect that Apple prevents all software installations from outside the app store. This is something which has to change as Apple isn't only protecting against malware, but also limits a lot of benign applications from being available on iOS. The first thing coming to my mind is Termux, which would instantly make an iPad much more usable. And extending that, a whole range of development tools could run way better on the iPad than it is allowed on the App Store. Just imagine a Linux VM running on the iPad... Apple should (or should be forced by regulators) to offer a Gatekeeper-like solution on the iPad/iPhone which gives the users a reasonable amount of control about their devices. And there is of course the content question. Apple tries to enforce their idea of "morale" onto the users. This is fine for their storefront, so to say, but there should be a section in the App Store for adult content. Especially the safe payment process would make this a very attractive service. If Apple wants to keep the "service" story alive for the App Store, they should craft their services according to the user demands, not to their ideas of what users should consume and install.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago

> Here’s the thing: If you’re a developer for iOS or macOS and want to charge customers money, the Apple-provided payment tools, which demand a 30% cut, are the only ones you’re allowed to use. It’s not even a discussion. Why does macOS keep getting offhandedly roped into these discussions? Not only is the Mac App Store not a requirement, it's rarely used. Maybe Apple intends to change that some day, but that's speculation, not reality. And frankly, from where I sit, people have been predicting the demise of macOS sideloading for nearly a decade now, and they're still waiting.

natch 7y ago
>Why does macOS keep getting offhandedly roped in... Because the people who write these screeds are ignorant. Apple has good reasons for doing things the way it does, and instead of acknowledging and addressing those reasons, the authors usually project onto Apple some made up evil, greedy intentions that don’t exist except in the mind of the writer. In this deluded world it must be the case that Apple does the same with macOS... they don’t even bother to check. Haters gonna hate.
nothis 7y ago
>Maybe Apple intends to change that some day, but that's speculation, not reality. I'd say it's pretty obvious that this is a desired outcome on Apple's part. You can either wait until it's too late or bring it up before it's happening.
- scarface74 7y ago
  So if it is the “desired outcome” why is it taking them over a decade? The Mac App Store was introduced in 10.6 - 7 releases ago.
  - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
    I obviously agree with you, but tiny nitpick—the App Store was not introduced in 10.6, it was added in a 10.6 point release. So your "7 releases ago" statement isn't quite accurate, although it depends on how you count.

blub 7y ago

The mobile app markets are operating at such scales, that there's a literal avalanche of scammers and assholes waiting to take advantage of you. There is zero chance that I would send personal info or payment data to some no-name app and even most of the other well known apps.

hindsightbias 7y ago
Correlation may not be causation, but I have a four year old CC that is just used for online subscriptins and purchases (netflix, hbo, apple, amazon, intuit, airlines, phone). Friday AM, I threw caution to the wind and used it at a smaller retailer site and software vendor. Within an hour I had a notice from my bank that my cc information had been exposed and a new card was being sent to me. I don’t like a world where I have to be paranoid and minimize the vendors who get my sacred numbers/business, but from the headlines and experience not many others are willing to be paranoid enough about security for me.
dwild 7y ago
> There is zero chance that I would send personal info or payment data to some no-name app and even most of the other well known apps. Then don't... It never stopped me from giving my credit card number to Amazon. I gained quite a bit from that and never had to give 30% to Apple to gain from it. I did have to give 2.5% to Visa though, but they did provide a pretty good service to justify that 2.5%.

nerdjon 7y ago

>On no other platform would we accept a scenario where the owner of that platform dictated not only the tools developers can use, but restricted the ways they talk about their products and pricing. We would call it unfair, monopolistic, and overbearing. But on our smartphones, it’s just a fact of life. I am pretty sure game consoles have been doing this basically since their existence. None of them allow you to make 'A' rated games for example. (Considering the topic of the article, it should be obvious I am referring to "restricted the ways they talk about their products and pricing" here) Retail stores keep some amount of control over signage, I doubt Walmart would be particularly happy if a sign said you could buy X device cheaper directly from the manufacturer. In reality Apple is continuing a trend that is normal for store fronts, digital or physical. However, the "walled garden" of Apple is largely why I stick with iOS. I don't want to be forced to trust every company with my credit card information (a developer implementing their own payment system will be an immediate delete for me, with very few exception... like Amazon for obvious reasons). Also lets not forget that we keep seeing reports that iOS users are more likely to spend money than Android users. I would argue that the increased income from users makes up for the 30% cut.

vbezhenar 7y ago
> I don't want to be forced to trust every company with my credit card information This problem is solved with Paypal.
- TheRealPomax 7y ago
  And modern banks that offer their customers "one time use" credit card numbers that you load up with an exact amount, and expire after a few hours if not collected on by a third party.
  - PakG1 7y ago
    Stripe gets no love? :)
    - Operyl 7y ago

eeeeeeeeeeeee 7y ago

Disagree. Every system has problems. Look at what happened with Zoom — unrestricted access to your entire user account on MacOS, for them to do whatever they want. Normal people should not have to even think about a virus or malware scanner on their system. I like where Apple is going and I like the iOS model. Most of all, I know that people like my parents will be better protected from malware and spyware and crypto extortion.

yepthatsreality 7y ago
Except this ignores the fact that there has been spyware and malware on Apple's store. Which perhaps gets removed eventually, but what about services that sell your data to the highest bidder without Apple's knowledge? Apple's offered security is relative to their definition of security. All it takes is your parents to install a malicious app that passed the app review. Deferring to Apple as some sort of security baby-sitter is just lazy and blind to the truth.
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 7y ago
  Like I said, no system is perfect. But let’s be real — which OS model is likely to better secure them and limit the damage? It’s objectively clear it’s iOS. iCloud backups make recovering from the damage much easier too. Backing up MacOS or Windows is still not easy. Even if they installed a malicious app on iOS, the damage is still limited because of the security model of iOS. I definitely understand the concern of centralizing everything around one provider, but I’m just pointing out that these systems win because, on the whole, they are a better experience for users. It’s why Facebook wins, and it’s why closed systems continue to crush open ones.
  - yepthatsreality 7y ago
    > It’s why Facebook wins, and it’s why closed systems continue to crush open ones. There's a bit too much going on in your response, so...I greatly disagree on many levels and I feel this statement is a good lead as to why.
- 7y ago

endorphone 7y ago

App Store cash is often significantly discounted. You can often buy $100 iTunes cards for $83 at Costco, for instance. This spurs on a lot of spend on the platform given that it becomes a staple gift choice for a lot of younger relatives. Further this is all very hand-wavy about abuse without mentioning the benefits that very same platform provides. It makes the whole discussion around it completely specious because it's inventing a victimization.

zxcvbn4038 7y ago

Even if Apple takes 30%, that’s still 70% that the app developer wouldn’t have if the App store didn’t exist. Without the App Store we would still depend on publishers to put us into stores, ask any author how that worked out for them.

fhood 7y ago

As an end user I approve of the walled garden. I don't mind the limitations on other forms of payment. I think it helps prevent fraud and insecure transactions, and I like the freedom and ease of use that comes with knowing that apps on the ios store went through a fairly substantial review process. As a developer (though it has been a few years since I wrote code for mobile) Apple's tools, documentation and libraries were so much better than Google's, though that may say more about Google than Apple. And I approve of app store revenue supporting those tools. But 30% is really, really high. I don't work for Apple, or Google for that matter, so I have no insight into what portion of the money goes to the services mentioned above, but it seems to me that even 20% would be pretty hard to swallow, and 30% seems unreasonable. I would love to hear from someone with actual knowledge of this how much of that app store revenue is profit.

tomduncalf 7y ago
>As a developer (though it has been a few years since I wrote code for mobile) Apple's tools, documentation and libraries were so much better than Google's This is still very much true IME, Android Studio has much more frequent random issues and is generally slower and harder to work with than Xcode (I use both every day)
swebs 7y ago
>But 30% is really, really high Interestingly, that's about the average income tax rate. I wonder if Apple and Uncle Sam both independently came to the same conclusion that that's the highest amount that they can get away with without hitting the tipping point.
- lancesells 7y ago
  It's not Apple it's everyone. Sell an eBook on Amazon - 35 to 70% royalty. I'm sure there are some outliers but most are right in that range. I think physical products seem to be less than digital ones: Ebay ~10%, Etsy ~5%.
  - ramses0 7y ago

jeksus 7y ago

He is complaining about payments in Apple Store using annoyingly paywalled medium. As an iOS Developer I think that's 30% cut is fair and it works. Just look at sales numbers on iOS vs Android. Most of sales comes from iOS. As a user I hate then devs decide to skip MacOS store. For me it means I have to use some 3rd party payment and license management solution so they can save some money.

jmuguy 7y ago

I know its snarky but complaining about Apple's walled garden via a post on Medium makes me chuckle.

ctrl-j 7y ago
It's especially funny to me, since I apparently have exceeded my monthly premium medium article limit - and would need to pay to actually read this.
- NietTim 7y ago
  I didn't even know that was a thing before clicking on this article
- collyw 7y ago
  Does "open in a private window" work?
  - tasuki 7y ago
    Yes, but, why should I have to do that? I'm not even angry at Medium, business do what business have to do. But why do people willingly post their content on Medium where it gets walled? To begin with, there's WordPress - and countless other alternatives.
    - aocenas 7y ago
      I think you need to opt in for your article to be behind paywall and if you do that you get some share from that. So it is basically people wanting to make money from what they write.
      - tasuki 7y ago
        Ah ok, so everyone is being rational - that's awesome to hear, thanks! :)

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dangus 7y ago

I had a while ago calculated the actual download cost with S3's pricing on what each ~100MB Spotify update would cost if it was self hosted. Assuming each paid and free Spotify customer on the iOS platform updated the app was something to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars depending on how you estimate the marketshare of iOS for Spotify versus their other platforms. What the App Store provides is not valueless, quite the opposite in fact. It's an entire system of distribution management. Is it monopolistic? By definition, no, because Android is the #1 smartphone platform in the world. Is it great that Apple has provided no alternative way of downloading software to the iPhone and iPad? No, that's not great either, but users knew that from day one (when the iPhone had no App Store at all). In reality, iOS is no different than a game console like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, and yet we consider those closed marketplaces completely functional and normal. If Apple was the only company making smartphones or if they even made a plurality of them, perhaps this would be a problem.

mattnewton 7y ago
> Is it monopolistic? By definition, no, because Android is the #1 smartphone platform in the world. This depends on how you describe the market. Is the market smartphone users or is it iOS apps? If you are in the market to buy an iOS app, you must go through apple, which would suggest it is a monopoly. IANAL but this has precedence - think of the “windows browser market” that Microsoft was raked over the coals about. The fact that you could buy a Mac or run Linux didn’t appease the courts IIRC. I find a lot of value in the iOS App Store and think it is just like a game console, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be viewed as a monopoly _for iOS apps_
- dangus 7y ago
  Microsoft was raked over the coals because they actually possessed a pure monopoly. In 2002 Internet Explorer had a 96.6% browser marketshare. [1] In 1999 Microsoft Windows made up around 95% of desktop operating systems in use. [2] In terms of antitrust law, IANAL but, I think you'd have a harder time convincing a court that the App Store is a monopoly of any sort. I don't think you can just break down markets into sections like that and claim they have a monopoly on that section. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers#OneStat.com_(April_2002_to_March_2009) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers#On... [2] https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/19/technology/microsoft/ https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/19/technology/microsoft/

klauslovgreen 7y ago

The restrictions and policy applied by Apple and to some extend Google makes it very hard to get traction, particularly for smaller developers. It feels extremely risky to develop high-budget new apps in this environment as there is a real chance the app will be rejected in order to comply with hard to understand limitations or end up not being allowed to be published at all.

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ericls 7y ago

I pay taxes

PascLeRasc 7y ago

I noticed that the author published this on a website that implements a paywall, doesn't allow much control over the look of their column, and tries to make you log into an official Medium account to read. I wonder why that is, if they're championing the open ecosystem so much?

grandridge 7y ago

all this whining about things not being fair. they created it, you use it. stop whining. I dont like it, I dont use it, simple. It didn't exist before, it doesn't need to exist, and its purpose of existence is not to be fair to you. this country is turning into a bunch of bitches

bigend 7y ago

You could replace iOS with Android, altough it is even more broken though. Just in worse ways. Hello arbitary dev account bans with no human to answer. Byebye privacy.

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securityfreak 7y ago

I believe Apple users choose the Apple ecosystem specifically because they value the protection the App Store provides. I can't even imagine the nightmare if every app was allowed to redirect me to their website, register there and enter payment information before I can start using their app. This system would be abused as hell. The in-app purchases are transparent (I can review all my transaction in one single place) and I can approve my child's purchases remotely. Also I am sure if the roles were switched, Spotify would no way in hell allow Apple Music to be priced the same way on their App Store for their ecosystem users. It's hypocrisy. I agree 30% might be too much, but it's their App Store, their users, their infrastructure, their public trust at stake, their rules.

CameronBanga 7y ago

Is anyone familiar enough with Medium to know why someone would publish their blog on the platform, and lock users behind a paywall in order to read their blogposts? Do they get a cut? I'm not even sure of price, but just see a screen that lets me know I've hit the end of my "Member Preview".

josefrichter 7y ago

"monopolistic"? doesn't Apple have around 10% market share?

Brendinooo 7y ago

It's worth going back to the App Store reveal video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo9cKe_Fch8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo9cKe_Fch8 30% might be high, and there's certainly a case to be made for conflict of interest in the Netflix/Spotify arena, but the App Store is solving a lot of problems: it's a single, universal way to get an app out to every iThing, it manages updates, and there's no nickel-and-diming in terms of processing fees or hosting or anything like that. I thought it was in that keynote but maybe not: I remember someone comparing a 30% cut to the costs associated with getting a physical copy onto retail shelf, and if I recall correctly it was in the same universe.

drudru11 7y ago

Literally Can’t read. Medium wants me to sign in to see content. Nope.

sharno 7y ago

Apple's ecosystem is one of the best out there actually, pretty seamless experience with little flaws here and there that are ok to live with or they get fixed slowly. Compare that to the alternatives and you'll find it marginally better