3 ms·

That is a bit harsh. I haven't once experienced a virus, or malware, with Apple. I'm not a fanboy. A human shouid review every app submission though. Maybe

That is a bit harsh. I haven't once experienced a virus, or malware, with Apple. I'm not a fanboy. A human shouid review every app submission though. Maybe they do? The minute Apple lightens up on security, they know they will lose a lot of customers.

adam_arthur 5y ago
If a company can achieve 70% margin (apple services), it's a clear sign that there's a lack of competition, or structurally anti-competitive elements. Why? Because normally if profit is that high, other players will see that and seek to compete in that market, thus driving down those margins. Certainly legislation shouldn't be based on a specific margin number, but if a company can achieve these kind of margins over the long run, then it's a clear warning sign. Where to draw the line for anti-trust is philosophical and up for debate, of course. In Apple's case, taking a 30% cut on all app store purchases is something that probably will be legislated against in the future. For AWS, charging excessively to egress your data and move to another platform is an anti-competitive tactic that will likely be disallowed. Current law does not appropriately account for the scale, power, and network effects that are of themselves anti competitive.
- lbotos 5y ago
  > If a company can achieve 70% margin (apple services), it's a clear sign that there's a lack of competition, or structurally anti-competitive elements. "most SaaS companies should achieve gross margins in the 75%–80% range, depending on the level of professional services required to deploy the solutions." - https://leadedge.com/why-we-like-saas-businesses/ https://leadedge.com/why-we-like-saas-businesses/ Dropbox: " GAAP gross margin was 78.6%, as compared to 77.3% in the same period last year. Non-GAAP gross margin was 80.2%, as compared to 78.3% in the same period last year." - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210506006050/en/Dropbox-Announces-Fiscal-2021-First-Quarter-Results https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210506006050/en/Dro... You do realize that most SaaS based software business are targeting 70%+ margin? Are they all structurally anti-competitive?
  - adam_arthur 5y ago
    It's pretty simple. In a highly competitive market, margins will approach 0. This is self evident, due to how competition works. The only way higher margins are achieved is by being a first mover (fine), or by using stickiness to make it difficult for customers to switch (AWS egress fees). Thought experiment. Say Apple had to prompt you to choose from top 3 app stores when starting up your new iPhone, and was not allowed to default, or even suggest as default, their own app store. A dev clones the app store 100% in appearance and behavior, but charges a 5% fee to app creators. In this world most likely Apple would lose a huge portion of their app store margins, as customers could make microtransactions at greater discount. Yes, Apple would likely still carry some premium due to being first party, but not 30% cut. What we'll likely see, probably many years from now, is a requirement to have open APIs to allow for easy transfer between SaaS services. Yes, this would reduce SaaS margins significantly. It gives the customer a huge amount of leverage to negotiate in their favor. Customers having leverage is what leads to a competitive and fair market. Right now SaaS are allowed to operate as a de facto Monopoly through network effect (cost of switching is very high). A walled garden is not a monopoly in the traditional sense, of course, but is a de facto one over the set of people within your walls. Yes, many years in the future, software is likely to be delivered close to "at cost" which would be a huge win for the customer, and really society at large. Right now that money is going towards paying devs 10x the median salary, which obviously creates a bimodal society, to a certain extent. Believe me, I'm as capitalist as they come... But capitalism only thrives in a competitive market.
simion314 5y ago
>I haven't once experienced a virus, or malware, with Apple. https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/07/emails-reveal-128-million-ios-users-were-affected-by-xcodeghost-malware/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/07/emails-reveal-128-million-ios... Malware exists but as you can see Apple will not even let you know if you were affected, some fans will assume that your are not informed because Apple protects you (similarly how Apple protects you from better deals)

adam_arthur 5y ago

If a company can achieve 70% margin (apple services), it's a clear sign that there's a lack of competition, or structurally anti-competitive elements. Why? Because normally if profit is that high, other players will see that and seek to compete in that market, thus driving down those margins. Certainly legislation shouldn't be based on a specific margin number, but if a company can achieve these kind of margins over the long run, then it's a clear warning sign. Where to draw the line for anti-trust is philosophical and up for debate, of course. In Apple's case, taking a 30% cut on all app store purchases is something that probably will be legislated against in the future. For AWS, charging excessively to egress your data and move to another platform is an anti-competitive tactic that will likely be disallowed. Current law does not appropriately account for the scale, power, and network effects that are of themselves anti competitive.

lbotos 5y ago
> If a company can achieve 70% margin (apple services), it's a clear sign that there's a lack of competition, or structurally anti-competitive elements. "most SaaS companies should achieve gross margins in the 75%–80% range, depending on the level of professional services required to deploy the solutions." - https://leadedge.com/why-we-like-saas-businesses/ https://leadedge.com/why-we-like-saas-businesses/ Dropbox: " GAAP gross margin was 78.6%, as compared to 77.3% in the same period last year. Non-GAAP gross margin was 80.2%, as compared to 78.3% in the same period last year." - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210506006050/en/Dropbox-Announces-Fiscal-2021-First-Quarter-Results https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210506006050/en/Dro... You do realize that most SaaS based software business are targeting 70%+ margin? Are they all structurally anti-competitive?
- adam_arthur 5y ago
  It's pretty simple. In a highly competitive market, margins will approach 0. This is self evident, due to how competition works. The only way higher margins are achieved is by being a first mover (fine), or by using stickiness to make it difficult for customers to switch (AWS egress fees). Thought experiment. Say Apple had to prompt you to choose from top 3 app stores when starting up your new iPhone, and was not allowed to default, or even suggest as default, their own app store. A dev clones the app store 100% in appearance and behavior, but charges a 5% fee to app creators. In this world most likely Apple would lose a huge portion of their app store margins, as customers could make microtransactions at greater discount. Yes, Apple would likely still carry some premium due to being first party, but not 30% cut. What we'll likely see, probably many years from now, is a requirement to have open APIs to allow for easy transfer between SaaS services. Yes, this would reduce SaaS margins significantly. It gives the customer a huge amount of leverage to negotiate in their favor. Customers having leverage is what leads to a competitive and fair market. Right now SaaS are allowed to operate as a de facto Monopoly through network effect (cost of switching is very high). A walled garden is not a monopoly in the traditional sense, of course, but is a de facto one over the set of people within your walls. Yes, many years in the future, software is likely to be delivered close to "at cost" which would be a huge win for the customer, and really society at large. Right now that money is going towards paying devs 10x the median salary, which obviously creates a bimodal society, to a certain extent. Believe me, I'm as capitalist as they come... But capitalism only thrives in a competitive market.

simion314 5y ago

>I haven't once experienced a virus, or malware, with Apple. https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/07/emails-reveal-128-million-ios-users-were-affected-by-xcodeghost-malware/ https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/07/emails-reveal-128-million-ios... Malware exists but as you can see Apple will not even let you know if you were affected, some fans will assume that your are not informed because Apple protects you (similarly how Apple protects you from better deals)