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> I wish you could pay devs instead of Apple to held this bar high. Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. At the dawn of the

by f6v 6y ago

> I wish you could pay devs instead of Apple to held this bar high. Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, but now it’s all about squeezing money. And the guy in the article didn’t have to publish the app in the first place, could have uploaded the app to the phone directly through the dev tools.

croh 6y ago
> Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end. > At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, it’s all about squeezing money. Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? Plus they don't let you have another store. Everything should must go thr' their wall, so no chance to avoid charge. > And the guy in the article didn’t have to publish the app in the first place, could have uploaded the app to the phone directly through the dev tools. How many phones he can upload it honestly ? Anyway, the point I am tring to say is, Apple/Google are not valuing dev community as they used to and devs are taken granted for. They should care devs as they care for consumers PR as it is mutual platform
- f6v 6y ago
  > Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? IIRC Apple charged you 100$ as early as in 2013, that's when I bought a subscription myself for the first time. But the app landscape was much different back then and it didn't stop hobby developers from publishing.
  - f6v 6y ago
    > Apple/Google are not valuing dev community as they used to and devs are taken granted for I mean, it's about making money, App Store is not a public good. If developers feel there's a better opportunity they can pursue other platform, but it seems like Google and Apple succeed at making the money-making developers happy. What else should matter to a public company?
  - MereInterest 6y ago
    Sure, it did. When I first got an ipod touch over a decade ago, I was excited to have something customizable. After all, all the marketing was focused on how wide a selection of apps existed, and the general vibe was that it was a good platform to develop for. I'd have loved to have made small utility apps for myself. But, part of writing things for myself is wanting to share them with friends should they ask. And that requires either a $100 fee, or walking each friend through the process of requesting a developer license in order to run an unpublished app. The fee is a pittance for anybody doing large development, but was far more than college-me wanted to spend on an entrance fee to a language.
- astrange 6y ago
  > Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end. Typically 15% now.
  - CasperDern 6y ago
    > Typically 15% now. Only because of the (still ongoing) anti-trust lawsuit against them.
    - BigJ1211 6y ago
      That 30% is also the industry standard. (Microsoft, Google, Sony, Nintendo, Epic etc). Which has only recently started to shift.
      - SirSourdough 6y ago
        Didn’t Apple basically set the standard? Seems like a weird way to justify it.
realusername 6y ago
What did you expect? The process to get an app on the store is complicated, time consuming and you even need to pay for it. Hobbyists are just publishing web apps instead nowadays and couldn't be bothered to publish on the app store. It's simpler, more accessible and you're guaranteed it will work. Only companies or people who don't really have any other choice do that.
- pvorb 6y ago
  That's also what came to my mind after reading the article: why didn't he simply write a web app? His girlfriend might even have used that because it was only browsing to a URL instead of installing an app on the phones of all guests.
  - BiteCode_dev 6y ago
    PWA are crippled on apple phones.
    - pmontra 6y ago
      That's not a surprise because it would make a dent into Apple's profits but did he need a PWA for picking a movie to watch? Share a URL to friends or place a QR code in the living room and that's it.
- nanis 6y ago
  > What did you expect? Many years ago, I got excited when I got a Nokia phone which supported Java ME. Finally, here was my chance to put some useful stuff on _MY_ phone I thought. Then I learned what I needed to get a single copy of something on a single phone (after signing up for the dev program). I don't remember the details, but, clearly, the point was you needed to be a part of an international conglomerate if you wanted to be able to ship awful clones of 80s 8-bit games. The messed up nightmare "mobile computing" was going to devolve into became apparent to me then. Nothing one can do about it. You either use the stuff everyone else is using or your are "out". Still, I had expected to be able to attach a cable and copy a blob from _MY_ computer to _MY_ phone. I know this is about app stores. Well, in this case, I expect to be able to put a blob somewhere and point people to it for them to install if they so choose. And, no, web pages that try to act like apps don't really count.
withinboredom 6y ago
> the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. Honestly, if I find an app that I'd like to pay for, I do a quick google search to find their web app. If they have one, I pay for it there and use it on my phone. If it's a game I actually enjoy, I might make a single in-app purchase for what I think the game is worth, usually around $5-10.

by f6v 6y ago

croh 6y ago

> Let’s be honest, the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end. > At the dawn of the app stores you could find a ton of free apps and games from hobbyists, it’s all about squeezing money. Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? Plus they don't let you have another store. Everything should must go thr' their wall, so no chance to avoid charge. > And the guy in the article didn’t have to publish the app in the first place, could have uploaded the app to the phone directly through the dev tools. How many phones he can upload it honestly ? Anyway, the point I am tring to say is, Apple/Google are not valuing dev community as they used to and devs are taken granted for. They should care devs as they care for consumers PR as it is mutual platform

f6v 6y ago
> Well apple charge you $100 per year to upload app, are you kidding ? IIRC Apple charged you 100$ as early as in 2013, that's when I bought a subscription myself for the first time. But the app landscape was much different back then and it didn't stop hobby developers from publishing.
- f6v 6y ago
  > Apple/Google are not valuing dev community as they used to and devs are taken granted for I mean, it's about making money, App Store is not a public good. If developers feel there's a better opportunity they can pursue other platform, but it seems like Google and Apple succeed at making the money-making developers happy. What else should matter to a public company?
- MereInterest 6y ago
  Sure, it did. When I first got an ipod touch over a decade ago, I was excited to have something customizable. After all, all the marketing was focused on how wide a selection of apps existed, and the general vibe was that it was a good platform to develop for. I'd have loved to have made small utility apps for myself. But, part of writing things for myself is wanting to share them with friends should they ask. And that requires either a $100 fee, or walking each friend through the process of requesting a developer license in order to run an unpublished app. The fee is a pittance for anybody doing large development, but was far more than college-me wanted to spend on an entrance fee to a language.
astrange 6y ago
> Apple/Google take 30 % of that fart, so you guess what they get at end. Typically 15% now.
- CasperDern 6y ago
  > Typically 15% now. Only because of the (still ongoing) anti-trust lawsuit against them.
  - BigJ1211 6y ago
    That 30% is also the industry standard. (Microsoft, Google, Sony, Nintendo, Epic etc). Which has only recently started to shift.
    - SirSourdough 6y ago
      Didn’t Apple basically set the standard? Seems like a weird way to justify it.

realusername 6y ago

What did you expect? The process to get an app on the store is complicated, time consuming and you even need to pay for it. Hobbyists are just publishing web apps instead nowadays and couldn't be bothered to publish on the app store. It's simpler, more accessible and you're guaranteed it will work. Only companies or people who don't really have any other choice do that.

pvorb 6y ago
That's also what came to my mind after reading the article: why didn't he simply write a web app? His girlfriend might even have used that because it was only browsing to a URL instead of installing an app on the phones of all guests.
- BiteCode_dev 6y ago
  PWA are crippled on apple phones.
  - pmontra 6y ago
    That's not a surprise because it would make a dent into Apple's profits but did he need a PWA for picking a movie to watch? Share a URL to friends or place a QR code in the living room and that's it.
nanis 6y ago
> What did you expect? Many years ago, I got excited when I got a Nokia phone which supported Java ME. Finally, here was my chance to put some useful stuff on _MY_ phone I thought. Then I learned what I needed to get a single copy of something on a single phone (after signing up for the dev program). I don't remember the details, but, clearly, the point was you needed to be a part of an international conglomerate if you wanted to be able to ship awful clones of 80s 8-bit games. The messed up nightmare "mobile computing" was going to devolve into became apparent to me then. Nothing one can do about it. You either use the stuff everyone else is using or your are "out". Still, I had expected to be able to attach a cable and copy a blob from _MY_ computer to _MY_ phone. I know this is about app stores. Well, in this case, I expect to be able to put a blob somewhere and point people to it for them to install if they so choose. And, no, web pages that try to act like apps don't really count.

withinboredom 6y ago

> the majority of the apps charge in-app for every fart. Honestly, if I find an app that I'd like to pay for, I do a quick google search to find their web app. If they have one, I pay for it there and use it on my phone. If it's a game I actually enjoy, I might make a single in-app purchase for what I think the game is worth, usually around $5-10.