One point that is always conspicuously absent from all of these kinds of discussions is a reflection on the actual value that Apple is providing for apps that a

One point that is always conspicuously absent from all of these kinds of discussions is a reflection on the actual value that Apple is providing for apps that are hosted on the AppStore. In the modern day software ecosystem, it is far too easy to take everything for granted and assume that all of these big companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon are all building software platforms for developers out of the good of their hearts. The reality is, these companies are all profit-driven, and the only reason why Apple for instance invests billions of dollars every year into the SDK is because there is a mutually beneficial relationship that exists between them and the developers. Of course all developers want an ecosystem where they can develop their own software for the devices that they and their customers use without restrictions. However, the developer community should be careful to not become too complacent and expect that Apple and other companies are just going to give them everything that they want for free. If the technology industry wants to get serious about building free and open platforms, then we should start focusing on supporting projects like the Librem[1] smartphone which are built with open-source ideals in mind. [1] https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/