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They have anti-trust lawsuits pending in multiple countries that will also force this once they resolve. It's obviously monopoly bundling. Literally every oth
by skrowl 6y ago
They have anti-trust lawsuits pending in multiple countries that will also force this once they resolve. It's obviously monopoly bundling. Literally every other modern OS allows you to install apps from multiple sources, including Android.
- gameswithgo 6y agoandroid allows is but its hidden away behind a setting and discouraged. in practice it is almost the same system, very few people have a big enough product that they can make money sideloading it. fortnite may be the only example
- cookieswumchorr 6y agoas an expat you need this all the time, to have specific apps for two locations, including government apps, commute apps, even retail bonus apps, they all have those idiotic geographical limitations, and are often not to be found on common APK sites. So you need a friend with the "right" location setting to extract and send you the APK. Troublesome, but at least with Android its possible to do so.
- commoner 6y agoAurora Store is a FOSS Google Play app store client that can spoof the device model, language, and location. It does not a require Google Play Services or a Google account, and it might work for your use case. https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/
- cookieswumchorr 6y agogreat tool, thank you!
- realusername 6y agoEven Fortnite gave up on distributing it independently and came back to the Play Store. That shows you how unfair those practices are, even the most well-known game in the world could not make it. I'm sure the failure of distributing Fortnite independently will be a strong example against Google when the anti-trust lawsuit will inevitably come.
- GeekyBear 6y agoEpic's statement at the time: >“After 18 months of operating Fortnite on Android outside of the Google Play Store, we’ve come to a basic realization,” reads Epic’s statement. “Google puts software downloadable outside of Google Play at a disadvantage, through technical and business measures such as scary, repetitive security pop-ups for downloaded and updated software, restrictive manufacturer and carrier agreements and dealings, Google public relations characterizing third party software sources as malware, and new efforts such as Google Play Protect to outright block software obtained outside the Google Play store.” https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21229943/epic-games-fortnite-google-play-store-available-third-party-software https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21229943/epic-games-fortn...
- ClikeX 6y agoGetting another store installed, or installing third party APK's isn't the hard part. The hard part is the baked in dependency on Google Play services in most apps.
- ryanlol 6y ago> It's obviously monopoly bundling. But there’s obviously no monopoly here. As you said yourself: > Literally every other modern OS allows you to install apps from multiple sources, including Android. Nobody is forced to choose iOS.
- heavyset_go 6y agoA monopoly is not the same thing as a lack of choice.
- ryanlol 6y agoNo matter how you’d like to word it, Apple is not in a monopoly position in the mobile OS market.
- heavyset_go 6y agoApple is certainly engaging in anti-competitive activity, along with Google, as it is viewed through the lens of US antitrust legislation and case law. Your personal definition of monopoly is irrelevant here.
- coldtea 6y ago>Apple is certainly engaging in anti-competitive activity, along with Google, as it is viewed through the lens of US antitrust legislation and case law. Your Not in anything that has to do with its app stores...
- pwinnski 6y agoYou are over-relying on a dictionary definition of monopoly that runs counter to the legal standard. Think "anti-trust" rather than "monopoly," if that helps.
- coldtea 6y agoThere's no "anti-trust" for your own marketplace within your own devices. The very "trust" in anti-trust is about companies in the "top-level" marketplace (the general market/economy). Not about what they can build for their own platforms, in the same way it's ok for Disneyland to give you Disney money...
- alexslobodnik 6y ago1. Secure 2. Open 3. Customer friendly Pick two.
- MattGaiser 6y agoAt least for me as a consumer, Apple’s behaviour is a feature I pay extra for, not a bug.
- benologist 6y agoApple's behavior is superfluous to marketplaces and your security. That's why they can promise security on macOS even though Steam is allowing users to buy and install games outside of the Mac app store. They even allow random unsigned software to be downloaded and installed without thwarting their security.
- krzyk 6y agoYou pay extra for not being able to install apps outside of Apple Store? Or more specifically, you pay extra so others couldn't do it on their phones (because you as I understand wouldn't, but you don't want others to be able to)?
- bitcurious 6y agoI’m having a hard time phrasing this, but I also fall in the camp that views it as positive. The gist is this: there is no app maker that can say “screw that” to Apple’s privacy/security rules and bypass them. As such I will never be in a position to choose between my privacy and using the app. By Apple’s removing the possibility of that choice, I get both.
- lenkite 6y agoThats fine. They can have a locked-down by default setting that you can pay extra for. The rest of us would like an open store.
- JTbane 6y agoThere have been numerous examples of apps in the App Store that have malicious behavior. So, with Apple, pick none I guess?
- throwaway9d0291 6y agoAndroid does allow sideloading but I think there's an argument that competition is harmed due to Google's Play Store having special package-installation permissions that none of the others can get. This results in competing app stores being required to obtain consent for every single app installation and update while the Play Store can do whatever it likes without any user interaction.