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Perhaps apps could actually ship you something IRL, and give the digital item away 'for free'. Example: Wordpress sends you a letter with an activation code. T

Perhaps apps could actually ship you something IRL, and give the digital item away 'for free'. Example: Wordpress sends you a letter with an activation code. Then it's a physical good you're paying for. Kind of like how people sell coupons on eBay, but you aren't paying for the coupon, but for the lister's time/effort to list it. Apple's fee is draconian and people are happy to manage these things via plain web applications. There is nothing special about apps. If anything, with all the extra special access they get (contacts, camera, gyroscope) they're a liability.

threatofrain 6y ago
People could also simply signup over the web and login through iOS. Far less hassle than physically shipping people digital goods.
- JMTQp8lwXL 6y ago
  Apple is not letting apps do that anymore. You can have payment through your web app, but you must also permit payment via the iOS app, where Apple gets 30%.
  - threatofrain 6y ago
    Apple requires that apps provide a way to signup, but Apple has no say over whether you already have a paying account with Microsoft. Apple wouldn't even know. I'm okay with Apple's vision of intermediating my digital relationships with regards to the iOS platform, most especially for summarizing all ongoing app subscriptions.
    - JMTQp8lwXL 6y ago
      Wouldn't you get a better user experience having your payment method (like your credit card company) managing all of your subscriptions? Surely not everything you subscribe to happens via Apple's ecosystem.
      - threatofrain 6y ago
        It really ought to be that way, and as banks modernize that may become the case, but right now I feel like runaway subscriptions are a huge problem, and credit card companies don't provide elegant summary or control of your financial relationships and transactions. When you leave big problems unsolved, then you're also leaving power on the table. Credit card companies are leaving a lot of power on the table.
    - aetherson 6y ago
      "Requires a way to sign up" undersells this. This forces apps like Hey to use the app store payment system even when they want to have their users do payment entirely outside the app store and download the app afterward.
      - threatofrain 6y ago
        And there's nothing stopping you from having a paying account with Hey where you didn't signup via the Apple platform. Hey is also free to charge some customers more than others. Customers get to choose whether they want Apple to intermediate financial relationships that ultimately involves a digital good being supported by the iOS platform. Where there was one choice now there are two — the choice to deal directly with Hey or to have Apple intermediate.
      - scarface74 6y ago
        We have an existence proof that that isn’t true. Hey doesn’t offer in app payments.

threatofrain 6y ago

People could also simply signup over the web and login through iOS. Far less hassle than physically shipping people digital goods.

JMTQp8lwXL 6y ago
Apple is not letting apps do that anymore. You can have payment through your web app, but you must also permit payment via the iOS app, where Apple gets 30%.
- threatofrain 6y ago
  Apple requires that apps provide a way to signup, but Apple has no say over whether you already have a paying account with Microsoft. Apple wouldn't even know. I'm okay with Apple's vision of intermediating my digital relationships with regards to the iOS platform, most especially for summarizing all ongoing app subscriptions.
  - JMTQp8lwXL 6y ago
    Wouldn't you get a better user experience having your payment method (like your credit card company) managing all of your subscriptions? Surely not everything you subscribe to happens via Apple's ecosystem.
    - threatofrain 6y ago
      It really ought to be that way, and as banks modernize that may become the case, but right now I feel like runaway subscriptions are a huge problem, and credit card companies don't provide elegant summary or control of your financial relationships and transactions. When you leave big problems unsolved, then you're also leaving power on the table. Credit card companies are leaving a lot of power on the table.
  - aetherson 6y ago
    "Requires a way to sign up" undersells this. This forces apps like Hey to use the app store payment system even when they want to have their users do payment entirely outside the app store and download the app afterward.
    - threatofrain 6y ago
      And there's nothing stopping you from having a paying account with Hey where you didn't signup via the Apple platform. Hey is also free to charge some customers more than others. Customers get to choose whether they want Apple to intermediate financial relationships that ultimately involves a digital good being supported by the iOS platform. Where there was one choice now there are two — the choice to deal directly with Hey or to have Apple intermediate.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      We have an existence proof that that isn’t true. Hey doesn’t offer in app payments.