15 ms·

You could argue that it is the way they pay for the distribution channels. I can't exactly go in and take a product in Wallmart and then pay target for it. The

You could argue that it is the way they pay for the distribution channels. I can't exactly go in and take a product in Wallmart and then pay target for it. The way I see it, Apple and Google made the platforms worth something, made the stores, made the development tools, run the stores (which can't be cheap). They could charge you a flat fee of several thousand dollars per app, but that would stifle competition too much. Instead they charge a percentage of what the app developer makes and ensures that as a user I can always trust the payment option to be save and, if I buy a subscription, to be easy to cancel. They could allow you to pick your own payment provider, but then companies would still have to pay the 30% tax to Apple/Google, so what would be the point?

simion314 5y ago
>they charge a percentage of what the app developer makes What seems perverse to me is they don't tax you on your profits, I am sure Google and Apple won't like the governments do the same to them. Btw I understand it is super hard to implement a tax on profits only so it would make more sense IMo to give the developers a choice, pay on what you use (pay for bandwidth, for reviews, for dev tools licenses, for advertising) OR pay the tax. The small devs could chose the tax , the big developers would chose the first one , Apple will have less money from this giant devs but they could keep their high walls for a few more years(I prefer if Apple and Epic don't get a secret deal and this fight continues so judges and us uncover more data about this topic)
- sitkack 5y ago
  The work done by the app stores isn't linear wrt to the purchase price. Clearly they shouldn't be taking a percentage cut. Together, GA has a duopoly on app stores and they have set their fees to be the same. That one of them would consider buying the trouble maker on the other platform is just ... telling.
- tomjen3 5y ago
  I considered the option of pay for what you use, but those prices would have to be massive (tens of thousands of dollars per dev) to even start to make up for it. It would essentially be a monopoly gift for the biggest developers.
  - simion314 5y ago
    That seems fishy, can you elaborate? - bandwidth is not that expensive , so only if the giants would screw you over with inflated prices. You could force the giants to reveal how much it actually costs(though I seen that even in the face of a judge the bastards pretend they are clueless and avoid answering questions) - app reviews, You pay per review or per hour, maybe you submit a game to Sony or MS and they want a review dude to play it all to ensure is not broken. -ads , only if you want, this should be an auction system - dev tools, you should only have to pay for Apple signing your stuff, compilers, SDKs, IDEs should be always an opion for the dev to chose. Btw, I am including all stores in my critique (including Steam,Sony's Play Station, and Microsoft)
remus 5y ago
I don't think anyone is arguing that Google/apple shouldn't be able to charge to use their stores. What is wrong is the amount they charge and the lack of options if you don't want to pay that fee. In a non-monopolistic market you can take your business elsewhere. If you don't like apple and Google's cut, you have no options.
- tomjen3 5y ago
  You are welcome to create your own store or sideload on Android. I will agree with you on Apples store, I wished there was a way to override it hidden well within the settings.
  - VelkaMorava 5y ago
    Aaah, the good old "you can create your own platform" argument. Please remind me again how that went for Parler and Gab.
    - krapp 5y ago
      Both Parler and Gab are currently up and running, so they seem to be doing fine.
      - VelkaMorava 5y ago
        Yes, they are running in the same sense that Xerox is a modern prosperous company and not a shadow of its former glory. It's beyond me how normal people push for centralized monopolies that can end you on a whim. I have written a long-ish post but deleted it. I just wanna say this new left-capitalist doctrine really scares me. Communism all over again except instead of woke comrades at the Central committee censoring things we got young programmer thought police at trillion dollar companies cancelling you over usage of "blacklist", "master" or not respecting preferred pronouns in a git repo or email. Don't worry, I'll check my privileges to become sufficiently woke and be a plus plus good warrior for justice.
        5y ago

simion314 5y ago

>they charge a percentage of what the app developer makes What seems perverse to me is they don't tax you on your profits, I am sure Google and Apple won't like the governments do the same to them. Btw I understand it is super hard to implement a tax on profits only so it would make more sense IMo to give the developers a choice, pay on what you use (pay for bandwidth, for reviews, for dev tools licenses, for advertising) OR pay the tax. The small devs could chose the tax , the big developers would chose the first one , Apple will have less money from this giant devs but they could keep their high walls for a few more years(I prefer if Apple and Epic don't get a secret deal and this fight continues so judges and us uncover more data about this topic)

sitkack 5y ago
The work done by the app stores isn't linear wrt to the purchase price. Clearly they shouldn't be taking a percentage cut. Together, GA has a duopoly on app stores and they have set their fees to be the same. That one of them would consider buying the trouble maker on the other platform is just ... telling.
tomjen3 5y ago
I considered the option of pay for what you use, but those prices would have to be massive (tens of thousands of dollars per dev) to even start to make up for it. It would essentially be a monopoly gift for the biggest developers.
- simion314 5y ago
  That seems fishy, can you elaborate? - bandwidth is not that expensive , so only if the giants would screw you over with inflated prices. You could force the giants to reveal how much it actually costs(though I seen that even in the face of a judge the bastards pretend they are clueless and avoid answering questions) - app reviews, You pay per review or per hour, maybe you submit a game to Sony or MS and they want a review dude to play it all to ensure is not broken. -ads , only if you want, this should be an auction system - dev tools, you should only have to pay for Apple signing your stuff, compilers, SDKs, IDEs should be always an opion for the dev to chose. Btw, I am including all stores in my critique (including Steam,Sony's Play Station, and Microsoft)

remus 5y ago

I don't think anyone is arguing that Google/apple shouldn't be able to charge to use their stores. What is wrong is the amount they charge and the lack of options if you don't want to pay that fee. In a non-monopolistic market you can take your business elsewhere. If you don't like apple and Google's cut, you have no options.

tomjen3 5y ago
You are welcome to create your own store or sideload on Android. I will agree with you on Apples store, I wished there was a way to override it hidden well within the settings.
- VelkaMorava 5y ago
  Aaah, the good old "you can create your own platform" argument. Please remind me again how that went for Parler and Gab.
  - krapp 5y ago
    Both Parler and Gab are currently up and running, so they seem to be doing fine.
    - VelkaMorava 5y ago
      Yes, they are running in the same sense that Xerox is a modern prosperous company and not a shadow of its former glory. It's beyond me how normal people push for centralized monopolies that can end you on a whim. I have written a long-ish post but deleted it. I just wanna say this new left-capitalist doctrine really scares me. Communism all over again except instead of woke comrades at the Central committee censoring things we got young programmer thought police at trillion dollar companies cancelling you over usage of "blacklist", "master" or not respecting preferred pronouns in a git repo or email. Don't worry, I'll check my privileges to become sufficiently woke and be a plus plus good warrior for justice.
      - 5y ago