5 ms·

> Maybe it's because the very rules you say developers hate are the ones users find appealing. Users may not know or care, but it is a stretch to say it is app

> Maybe it's because the very rules you say developers hate are the ones users find appealing. Users may not know or care, but it is a stretch to say it is appealing to power users that they cannot run ish. It is not appealing to regular users that they can't buy books from within the Kindle app. Etc. Etc.

threeseed 6y ago
Amazon chose not to allow users to buy books from the app. Apple is not stopping them.
- RHSeeger 6y ago
  That is disingenuous, at best. Apple takes a large percentage on purchases through the phone, so Amazon doesn't allow the purchase through it. It's not an arbitrary decision on their end.
  - jeremy_wiebe 6y ago
    My understanding is that Amazon also takes their chunk of flesh from book publishers/authors. Honest question then: how is that different? You can publish a book but if you aren’t on Amazon you drastically limit your exposure to potential readers.
    - II2II 6y ago
      You do run into a bit of a problem though: Amazon wants their cut, Apple wants their cut, the credit card company wants their cut, the publisher wants their cut, and there are likely others in the chain as well. That's not to say that each party doesn't deserve payment for their services, but there does have to be some limitations on how much they can take.
      - philistine 6y ago
        And that limit should reflect how involved they are in the existence of the product. Is a credit card company intrinsically vital to the existence of a book? No. Then their cap should be reasonably low, like in Europe. Is Apple intrinsically vital to the existence of an ebook?
    - lmm 6y ago
      Amazon doesn't block customers from buying books from elsewhere and reading them on Amazon devices. It's fiddlier than buying through the integrated Amazon store, but it's a fully supported way of using your Amazon device. I'm not aware of them blocking sellers from listing books on Amazon and also at a lower price elsewhere (though it wouldn't surprise me if they did), and they certainly don't block sellers from telling their customers how much Amazon's cut is.
- my123 6y ago
  In quite some countries, book pricing is fixed by the publisher and cannot vary between websites according to the law. If AAPL takes a 30% margin, the whole model cannot work and you are much better off not selling anything.
  - threeseed 6y ago
    I fail to see what the relationship between the publisher and the seller has to do with Apple. Because in case you're not aware Amazon isn't some mom and pop store. It has enough clout to negotiate terms with publishers.
    - hk__2 6y ago
      > Because in case you're not aware Amazon isn't some mom and pop store. It has enough clout to negotiate terms with publishers. Not everywhere, as GP wrote. In France, the price of a book is fixed: it sells the same price whether you’re Amazon or a small bookstore (you’re allowed to offer a 5% reduction max).
      - amenod 6y ago
        True, but the amount the publisher gets is negotiable. Not saying that 30% is acceptable, of course - I have no idea what the margins on books are.
- miles 6y ago
  > Amazon chose not to allow users to buy books from the app. Apple is not stopping them. Internal emails show how an Amazon ad prompted Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller to block in-app purchases of Kindle books on iOS https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/30/internal-emails-show-how-an-amazon-ad-prompted-steve-jobs-and-phil-schiller-to-block-in-app-purchases-of-kindle-books-on-ios/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/30/internal-emails-show-how-an-a... Why You Can't Buy Books from the Kindle app on iPhone or iPad in 2018 https://www.techspot.com/article/1597-how-to-buy-kindle-book-iphone-ipad/ https://www.techspot.com/article/1597-how-to-buy-kindle-book...
Veen 6y ago
Power users who want to run a Linux environment on their phone are a minute fraction of the iOS user base. I don’t think Apple is interested in serving every possible user, and they’re probably quite content to let people who need this type of feature find it on a different platform.
irrational 6y ago
I’m an iOS user and a kindle user. Having to go to another place to purchase kindle books doesn’t bother me. But it is mostly about how often I do it. If I was purchasing books every hour it would really bother me. But I only purchase books once a month or less. So it’s not a big deal for me.
- neop1x 6y ago
  I am KOReader user on rooted Kobo and LineageOS Android. I can read many file formats without the fear that books will stop working [1] one day. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48829661 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48829661
  - irrational 6y ago
    I never read a book more than once. Life is short and there are too many books to get through.

threeseed 6y ago

Amazon chose not to allow users to buy books from the app. Apple is not stopping them.

RHSeeger 6y ago
That is disingenuous, at best. Apple takes a large percentage on purchases through the phone, so Amazon doesn't allow the purchase through it. It's not an arbitrary decision on their end.
- jeremy_wiebe 6y ago
  My understanding is that Amazon also takes their chunk of flesh from book publishers/authors. Honest question then: how is that different? You can publish a book but if you aren’t on Amazon you drastically limit your exposure to potential readers.
  - II2II 6y ago
    You do run into a bit of a problem though: Amazon wants their cut, Apple wants their cut, the credit card company wants their cut, the publisher wants their cut, and there are likely others in the chain as well. That's not to say that each party doesn't deserve payment for their services, but there does have to be some limitations on how much they can take.
    - philistine 6y ago
      And that limit should reflect how involved they are in the existence of the product. Is a credit card company intrinsically vital to the existence of a book? No. Then their cap should be reasonably low, like in Europe. Is Apple intrinsically vital to the existence of an ebook?
  - lmm 6y ago
    Amazon doesn't block customers from buying books from elsewhere and reading them on Amazon devices. It's fiddlier than buying through the integrated Amazon store, but it's a fully supported way of using your Amazon device. I'm not aware of them blocking sellers from listing books on Amazon and also at a lower price elsewhere (though it wouldn't surprise me if they did), and they certainly don't block sellers from telling their customers how much Amazon's cut is.
my123 6y ago
In quite some countries, book pricing is fixed by the publisher and cannot vary between websites according to the law. If AAPL takes a 30% margin, the whole model cannot work and you are much better off not selling anything.
- threeseed 6y ago
  I fail to see what the relationship between the publisher and the seller has to do with Apple. Because in case you're not aware Amazon isn't some mom and pop store. It has enough clout to negotiate terms with publishers.
  - hk__2 6y ago
    > Because in case you're not aware Amazon isn't some mom and pop store. It has enough clout to negotiate terms with publishers. Not everywhere, as GP wrote. In France, the price of a book is fixed: it sells the same price whether you’re Amazon or a small bookstore (you’re allowed to offer a 5% reduction max).
    - amenod 6y ago
      True, but the amount the publisher gets is negotiable. Not saying that 30% is acceptable, of course - I have no idea what the margins on books are.
miles 6y ago
> Amazon chose not to allow users to buy books from the app. Apple is not stopping them. Internal emails show how an Amazon ad prompted Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller to block in-app purchases of Kindle books on iOS https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/30/internal-emails-show-how-an-amazon-ad-prompted-steve-jobs-and-phil-schiller-to-block-in-app-purchases-of-kindle-books-on-ios/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/30/internal-emails-show-how-an-a... Why You Can't Buy Books from the Kindle app on iPhone or iPad in 2018 https://www.techspot.com/article/1597-how-to-buy-kindle-book-iphone-ipad/ https://www.techspot.com/article/1597-how-to-buy-kindle-book...

Veen 6y ago

Power users who want to run a Linux environment on their phone are a minute fraction of the iOS user base. I don’t think Apple is interested in serving every possible user, and they’re probably quite content to let people who need this type of feature find it on a different platform.

irrational 6y ago

I’m an iOS user and a kindle user. Having to go to another place to purchase kindle books doesn’t bother me. But it is mostly about how often I do it. If I was purchasing books every hour it would really bother me. But I only purchase books once a month or less. So it’s not a big deal for me.

neop1x 6y ago
I am KOReader user on rooted Kobo and LineageOS Android. I can read many file formats without the fear that books will stop working [1] one day. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48829661 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48829661
- irrational 6y ago
  I never read a book more than once. Life is short and there are too many books to get through.