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One benefit of only WebKit being allowed on iOS is that it gives Apple the market power to shape web standards in favor of privacy.

vnorilo 7y ago
Apple may be happy to differentiate on privacy but surely they don't care or might even prefer that android and others get worse in that regard.
- Despegar 7y ago
  It doesn't really matter if Apple is for privacy in their heart of hearts or because they're ruthless capitalists if the end result is in favor of privacy. In fact it's better if there's a profit incentive. Alignment of interests is what's been Apple's superpower for a long time now.
  - vnorilo 7y ago
    Sure, but I'd guess their incentives align with being better than median, and thus not necessarily with improving the standards with their market power.
    - shermozle 7y ago
      Exactly this. Otherwise they'd push their things to standards processes or open them to non-Apple users. Like their login thing, which is genius but useless to non-Apple users.
      - lucasverra 7y ago
        you can have an apple id and not have any apple device.
- xoa 7y ago
  >but surely they don't care or might even prefer that android and others get worse in that regard There are more levels than just their own direct position though right? Apple's more data/ad-driven competitors directly gain revenue from having more information. In some cases if Apple is able to shape standards themselves in favor of more privacy, their business model enables them to profit in that environment while it starves others of oxygen. Competitors can't just necessarily take the same privacy stance without suffering harm (and conversely, Apple can't fight battles on pricing or data-driven features like AI as effectively). Businesses seeking to alter the environment itself to match their strengths isn't unheard of and can make a lot of sense.
saagarjha 7y ago
On the flip side, Chrome can ram through implementations before their standardized and people will start using them.
- edoceo 7y ago
  But not on iOS, which as of this writing is still a big deal.

vnorilo 7y ago

Apple may be happy to differentiate on privacy but surely they don't care or might even prefer that android and others get worse in that regard.

Despegar 7y ago
It doesn't really matter if Apple is for privacy in their heart of hearts or because they're ruthless capitalists if the end result is in favor of privacy. In fact it's better if there's a profit incentive. Alignment of interests is what's been Apple's superpower for a long time now.
- vnorilo 7y ago
  Sure, but I'd guess their incentives align with being better than median, and thus not necessarily with improving the standards with their market power.
  - shermozle 7y ago
    Exactly this. Otherwise they'd push their things to standards processes or open them to non-Apple users. Like their login thing, which is genius but useless to non-Apple users.
    - lucasverra 7y ago
      you can have an apple id and not have any apple device.
xoa 7y ago
>but surely they don't care or might even prefer that android and others get worse in that regard There are more levels than just their own direct position though right? Apple's more data/ad-driven competitors directly gain revenue from having more information. In some cases if Apple is able to shape standards themselves in favor of more privacy, their business model enables them to profit in that environment while it starves others of oxygen. Competitors can't just necessarily take the same privacy stance without suffering harm (and conversely, Apple can't fight battles on pricing or data-driven features like AI as effectively). Businesses seeking to alter the environment itself to match their strengths isn't unheard of and can make a lot of sense.

saagarjha 7y ago

On the flip side, Chrome can ram through implementations before their standardized and people will start using them.

edoceo 7y ago
But not on iOS, which as of this writing is still a big deal.