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But developers do tolerate it, and that’s the problem. And they tolerate it because there’s immense value there.

jacquesm 5y ago
Until there isn't and then they should be free to take their payment services elsewhere because a 30% cut to your payment provider makes no sense. The value is there but then again, Stripe and other PSPs provide much of that same value at a much better price point, and that's because there is competition in the realm of payment processing.
jb1991 5y ago
There is definitely some value to the App Store and Apple's management of it and the payment service, listing, etc. But I would not say it is "immense" value, and 30% is a lot.
sunderw 5y ago
Well they tolerate it because there is no other choice. You can't say f** all the apple users. Would you have the same argument if Windows took a 30% cut of all transactions that happened on "their platform" ?
- interpol_p 5y ago
  It's not the number of Apple users that matter. There are many more Android users world wide. It's the fact that Apple users spend more, and more often than users on other platforms.
  - spiffytech 5y ago
    Phone market share has different distributions in different markets. In the US it looks like the iPhone hovers around 50% marketshare. That's pretty significant to ignore. Then there are the network effects. Many apps have a social component, and if your app isn't on iPhone you'll only get the customers who both use Android and who never want to collaborate with iPhone-owning friends/family/coworkers. This is of course true for iPhone-only apps, too, which is why folks argue Apple and Google are a duopoly: it's infeasible to succeed in the mobile market without bending to the gatekeepers, and they don't give anyone the market power to force them to change.
- Spivak 5y ago
  I mean you absolutely can. If the commission was 90% would you still pay it? Hell nah. Apple knows it's still worth it to most publishers at 30%. And yes, if Windows wanted to charge 30% then go for it. It is their platform.
clusterfish 5y ago
There was "immense value" in every monopolist that was rightfully broken up or restricted. There's "immense value" in every monopoly / duopoly market. So what. The richest company in the world is swimming in money, pays little taxes, and gouges every developer who made its products successful. They are nothing without the developers, they're simply in a good position to abuse them, a position that they carefully crafted for themselves.
- amelius 5y ago
  On top of that, we really don't want to be in a situation where every large software producer has to create their own phone to maximize their income. It would be a terrible waste of resources. What Apple wants to own can't be owned.
apexalpha 5y ago
Developers "tolerate" it in the same way that I tolerate having my income taxed. You really don't have a choice.

Until there isn't and then they should be free to take their payment services elsewhere because a 30% cut to your payment provider makes no sense. The value is there but then again, Stripe and other PSPs provide much of that same value at a much better price point, and that's because there is competition in the realm of payment processing.

jb1991 5y ago

There is definitely some value to the App Store and Apple's management of it and the payment service, listing, etc. But I would not say it is "immense" value, and 30% is a lot.

sunderw 5y ago

Well they tolerate it because there is no other choice. You can't say f** all the apple users. Would you have the same argument if Windows took a 30% cut of all transactions that happened on "their platform" ?

interpol_p 5y ago
It's not the number of Apple users that matter. There are many more Android users world wide. It's the fact that Apple users spend more, and more often than users on other platforms.
- spiffytech 5y ago
  Phone market share has different distributions in different markets. In the US it looks like the iPhone hovers around 50% marketshare. That's pretty significant to ignore. Then there are the network effects. Many apps have a social component, and if your app isn't on iPhone you'll only get the customers who both use Android and who never want to collaborate with iPhone-owning friends/family/coworkers. This is of course true for iPhone-only apps, too, which is why folks argue Apple and Google are a duopoly: it's infeasible to succeed in the mobile market without bending to the gatekeepers, and they don't give anyone the market power to force them to change.
Spivak 5y ago
I mean you absolutely can. If the commission was 90% would you still pay it? Hell nah. Apple knows it's still worth it to most publishers at 30%. And yes, if Windows wanted to charge 30% then go for it. It is their platform.

clusterfish 5y ago

There was "immense value" in every monopolist that was rightfully broken up or restricted. There's "immense value" in every monopoly / duopoly market. So what. The richest company in the world is swimming in money, pays little taxes, and gouges every developer who made its products successful. They are nothing without the developers, they're simply in a good position to abuse them, a position that they carefully crafted for themselves.

amelius 5y ago
On top of that, we really don't want to be in a situation where every large software producer has to create their own phone to maximize their income. It would be a terrible waste of resources. What Apple wants to own can't be owned.

apexalpha 5y ago

Developers "tolerate" it in the same way that I tolerate having my income taxed. You really don't have a choice.