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Is the App Store really an obstacle to apps getting on the iOS platform? Is it artificially raising prices? That's what matters from a consumer interests perspe

by simonh 6y ago

Is the App Store really an obstacle to apps getting on the iOS platform? Is it artificially raising prices? That's what matters from a consumer interests perspective, are they losing out or are they getting ripped off. If the answer is no, there's no case to answer. The reason for companies to exist and develop and sell products isn't to benefit their competitors.

eyesee 6y ago
If anything I think the App Store has helped to drive the purchase price of software to $0. This in turn has driven every software vendor to either a subscription pricing model or a (privacy-invasive) ad model. Open question on if this is net beneficial to consumers or developers, but it could also be considered an economic inevitability when MC = MR = 0.
- simion314 6y ago
  I think maybe the ads helped this more, and what helped that is probably some ad library the developer can drop in the application. What kind of free apps are there ? 1 some open source software that is compatible with iOS store license 2 trials or apps with pay to unlock stuff 3 free with ads So IMO even if you have 3 stores this will not change. But you could get finally GPL software and apps/games that target adults.
thayne 6y ago
> Is the App Store really an obstacle to apps getting on the iOS platform? Yes. A tremendous amount of effort goes into playing the game of guessing what you need to do to pass the approval process. And I don't mean things like tracking. I mean things like removing any links to your website, because users could buy a subscription there instead of on through the app. > Is it artificially raising prices? Absolutely. That 30% has to come from somewhere. And since you aren't allowed to charge more for an app purchase than a subscription online, that means it raises the price for everyone. Not just people who use the app.

by simonh 6y ago

eyesee 6y ago

If anything I think the App Store has helped to drive the purchase price of software to $0. This in turn has driven every software vendor to either a subscription pricing model or a (privacy-invasive) ad model. Open question on if this is net beneficial to consumers or developers, but it could also be considered an economic inevitability when MC = MR = 0.

simion314 6y ago
I think maybe the ads helped this more, and what helped that is probably some ad library the developer can drop in the application. What kind of free apps are there ? 1 some open source software that is compatible with iOS store license 2 trials or apps with pay to unlock stuff 3 free with ads So IMO even if you have 3 stores this will not change. But you could get finally GPL software and apps/games that target adults.

thayne 6y ago

> Is the App Store really an obstacle to apps getting on the iOS platform? Yes. A tremendous amount of effort goes into playing the game of guessing what you need to do to pass the approval process. And I don't mean things like tracking. I mean things like removing any links to your website, because users could buy a subscription there instead of on through the app. > Is it artificially raising prices? Absolutely. That 30% has to come from somewhere. And since you aren't allowed to charge more for an app purchase than a subscription online, that means it raises the price for everyone. Not just people who use the app.