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I think you're right. Google sent out a developer survey recently with a lot of questions including Epic & Unreal, and stand out questions included "would you s

I think you're right. Google sent out a developer survey recently with a lot of questions including Epic & Unreal, and stand out questions included "would you still use the Google Play Store and Android if it was no longer owned & run by Google" and "would you pay a fee to use the App Store". So I think Google is already preparing for a future where hardware, software & app store divisions are all split up into separate companies. I don't think Apple is prepared for that future. I can imagine Google & Amazon making app stores that run on iOS, but I can't see Apple making an App Store For Android. (Imagine if Google could also have an iOS App Store, and you could buy software once on Google Play Android, and the same purchase also ran on iOS devices via Google Play For iOS. Would you keep buying software from Apple?)

simonh 6y ago
Oh grief, so then we'd have Apple put all the cool new features in iOS in their iOS App Store libraries, as Google does with the Play Store and leave iOS itself as a bare bones layer, with some crappy crippled ghost town stores on the side full of malware and adware. All in the name of customer choice. Gah. I do have a choice, if I wanted a mess like that I'd get an Android phone.
- Operyl 6y ago
  Pretty much how it'll go, yup. Meanwhile, making it all the harder for people who are making applications that are never going to be distributed via the App Store because you wanted to make use of one of those APIs.
  - throwaway2048 6y ago
    The amount of people making applications that aren't being distributed via the Apple App store is vanishingly tiny.
- vadansky 6y ago
  Exactly, I don't understand why everyone is quick to turn Apple into Android, when I bet they don't even have iPhones in the first place. I know the concensus on HN is that Apple is a monopoly, but ALL my friends expect for one have androids. You can say "Well yes, but by % of revenue", but that's the point. All my friends will never give a penny to a play store App because it has the reputation of a Warez site, full of flashlight apps that need root permission to install.
  - monkmartinez 6y ago
    I have had both and I prefer Android, but I am using an iPhone 11 right now. I would switch back to Android in heartbeat if there was a way for me to seamlessly message my children on their iPads similar to iOS. I use about 10 apps on my phone and they are all available on iOS and Android. Once my kids are old enough to be thoughtful users of a cell phone, I will switch back to Android.
  - romanoderoma 6y ago
    > All my friends will never give a penny to a play store App Because they are buying a brand. If Play Store will start selling iOS apps, the same iOS apps they already know, at a discount they will immediately buy them. Because they are human after all.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      How many apps are iOS only that are popular?
      - romanoderoma 6y ago
        How many apps are iOS only and not usable anywhere else? Is there something similar to this for iOS apps? https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21355997/microsoft-your-phone-app-windows-10-android-support https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21355997/microsoft-your-ph...
        6y ago
- tingol 6y ago
  Oh come on, save your silly sarcasm for reddit. If someone doesn't want to use the App Store for their app they have NO OTHER OPTION. Nobody cares about other markets, but you can't even host your own app! You are forced to give up 30% of your app revenue just to be in their walled garden. That is monopolistic in every possible way. And stop with the childish "ooh we're gonna end up like Android". Android devices are more than capable to hold their own against Apple's offerings nowadays and I haven't heard anyone complain about viruses and malware in like five years now. And when I want to install an open source app I can do so on Android but Apple wants to tell me I can't after I spent $1k on their shiny phone. Amazing stuff, let's not lose it for something silly like user and developers having a fucking choice.
  - 52-6F-62 6y ago
    One of the reasons I bought an iPhone is because there are no vectors for arbitrary software installation.
    - gameswithgo 6y ago
      Maybe one day an app you depend on will be made no longer allowed by apple's changing policies and then you will get it. shrug
      - simonh 6y ago
        Maybe one day the sky will fall on all our heads. But to your point, sure if an Android phone does the job better for me then I'd buy one. Right now they don't and one of the reasons is the different development and distribution model.
      - 52-6F-62 6y ago
        I didn't think this current debate was caused by Apple changing policies, but to actually force Apple to change policies.
        jasonlotito 6y ago
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  Well, no. We already have two alternatives to the Google Play Services that are perfectly functional; MicroG and Huawei Play Service. I don't know why it would have to be "a mess", or "a crippled ghost town". For me, the reason why iPhone are great are because of the hardware. FOSS alternatives to Apple's software that maintain compatibility are almost assured.
  - simonh 6y ago
    The reason I use iPhones is both, hardware and software. It's the whole package, services too. Why can't you just leave us alone?
    - bryan_w 6y ago
      If Apple didn't allow 3rd parties into its app store, then it would be fine. Once you operate a platform for third parties to join, you have an responsibility to ensure that other platforms providing the same service are possible without interference. Otherwise, you're participating in anti-competitive behavior.
      - scarface74 6y ago
        Do you feel the same way about the consoles? Smart TVs? But you are actually legally incorrect. A company has “no duty to deal”.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      Then just install Apple Services or whatever and don't use anything else? How is the fact that I have a choice bad for you?
      - edgyquant 6y ago
        You have a choice to not buy apple
        sudosysgen 6y ago
- literallycancer 6y ago
  Fdroid is full of malware? Since when? Or are you just talking out of your ass?
- jayd16 6y ago
  Hmm, a google store on iOS would mean you could potentially ship Android apps to iOS with some iOS shim, couldn't you? I'm actually kind of surprised Apple hasn't done this on Android yet, now that I think about it.
- int_19h 6y ago
  If you're using the OS as packaged by Google on their branded phones (i.e. in the same manner as iOS packaged by Apple for iPhones), why would it make any difference to you one way or the other?

simonh 6y ago

Oh grief, so then we'd have Apple put all the cool new features in iOS in their iOS App Store libraries, as Google does with the Play Store and leave iOS itself as a bare bones layer, with some crappy crippled ghost town stores on the side full of malware and adware. All in the name of customer choice. Gah. I do have a choice, if I wanted a mess like that I'd get an Android phone.

Operyl 6y ago
Pretty much how it'll go, yup. Meanwhile, making it all the harder for people who are making applications that are never going to be distributed via the App Store because you wanted to make use of one of those APIs.
- throwaway2048 6y ago
  The amount of people making applications that aren't being distributed via the Apple App store is vanishingly tiny.
vadansky 6y ago
Exactly, I don't understand why everyone is quick to turn Apple into Android, when I bet they don't even have iPhones in the first place. I know the concensus on HN is that Apple is a monopoly, but ALL my friends expect for one have androids. You can say "Well yes, but by % of revenue", but that's the point. All my friends will never give a penny to a play store App because it has the reputation of a Warez site, full of flashlight apps that need root permission to install.
- monkmartinez 6y ago
  I have had both and I prefer Android, but I am using an iPhone 11 right now. I would switch back to Android in heartbeat if there was a way for me to seamlessly message my children on their iPads similar to iOS. I use about 10 apps on my phone and they are all available on iOS and Android. Once my kids are old enough to be thoughtful users of a cell phone, I will switch back to Android.
- romanoderoma 6y ago
  > All my friends will never give a penny to a play store App Because they are buying a brand. If Play Store will start selling iOS apps, the same iOS apps they already know, at a discount they will immediately buy them. Because they are human after all.
  - scarface74 6y ago
    How many apps are iOS only that are popular?
    - romanoderoma 6y ago
      How many apps are iOS only and not usable anywhere else? Is there something similar to this for iOS apps? https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21355997/microsoft-your-phone-app-windows-10-android-support https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21355997/microsoft-your-ph...
      - 6y ago
tingol 6y ago
Oh come on, save your silly sarcasm for reddit. If someone doesn't want to use the App Store for their app they have NO OTHER OPTION. Nobody cares about other markets, but you can't even host your own app! You are forced to give up 30% of your app revenue just to be in their walled garden. That is monopolistic in every possible way. And stop with the childish "ooh we're gonna end up like Android". Android devices are more than capable to hold their own against Apple's offerings nowadays and I haven't heard anyone complain about viruses and malware in like five years now. And when I want to install an open source app I can do so on Android but Apple wants to tell me I can't after I spent $1k on their shiny phone. Amazing stuff, let's not lose it for something silly like user and developers having a fucking choice.
- 52-6F-62 6y ago
  One of the reasons I bought an iPhone is because there are no vectors for arbitrary software installation.
  - gameswithgo 6y ago
    Maybe one day an app you depend on will be made no longer allowed by apple's changing policies and then you will get it. shrug
    - simonh 6y ago
      Maybe one day the sky will fall on all our heads. But to your point, sure if an Android phone does the job better for me then I'd buy one. Right now they don't and one of the reasons is the different development and distribution model.
    - 52-6F-62 6y ago
      I didn't think this current debate was caused by Apple changing policies, but to actually force Apple to change policies.
      - jasonlotito 6y ago
sudosysgen 6y ago
Well, no. We already have two alternatives to the Google Play Services that are perfectly functional; MicroG and Huawei Play Service. I don't know why it would have to be "a mess", or "a crippled ghost town". For me, the reason why iPhone are great are because of the hardware. FOSS alternatives to Apple's software that maintain compatibility are almost assured.
- simonh 6y ago
  The reason I use iPhones is both, hardware and software. It's the whole package, services too. Why can't you just leave us alone?
  - bryan_w 6y ago
    If Apple didn't allow 3rd parties into its app store, then it would be fine. Once you operate a platform for third parties to join, you have an responsibility to ensure that other platforms providing the same service are possible without interference. Otherwise, you're participating in anti-competitive behavior.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      Do you feel the same way about the consoles? Smart TVs? But you are actually legally incorrect. A company has “no duty to deal”.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    Then just install Apple Services or whatever and don't use anything else? How is the fact that I have a choice bad for you?
    - edgyquant 6y ago
      You have a choice to not buy apple
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
literallycancer 6y ago
Fdroid is full of malware? Since when? Or are you just talking out of your ass?
jayd16 6y ago
Hmm, a google store on iOS would mean you could potentially ship Android apps to iOS with some iOS shim, couldn't you? I'm actually kind of surprised Apple hasn't done this on Android yet, now that I think about it.
int_19h 6y ago
If you're using the OS as packaged by Google on their branded phones (i.e. in the same manner as iOS packaged by Apple for iPhones), why would it make any difference to you one way or the other?