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> Yes, and they still lead the global market share for desktops and laptops. Which means little, because no one is competing with them. > who wants to develop

> Yes, and they still lead the global market share for desktops and laptops. Which means little, because no one is competing with them. > who wants to develop for somebody that says "anything you make on my platform will be obsolete in 2-3 years"? Anyone who wants access to Apple's base of high-value mobile users. Note too that "obsolete" is inaccurate here. Those who've bought an app can continue to download and use it as long as it still runs on their devices, as I do with several apps that have aged out of purchasability. What's accurate is that devs need to update their app at least once every couple of years or so to keep it available to new customers. If I were running a business that depended significantly on app installs for revenue, I think that would be a reasonable bar to clear - at any rate, it's posed no problem for those businesses I've worked with that do.

AlexandrB 5y ago
> Anyone who wants access to Apple's base of high-value mobile users. This high-value user is getting increasingly tired of Apple's shit and is actively looking for an alternative. Their stewardship of the App Store is increasingly abysmal. Their promotion of subscription pricing over other business models is anti-consumer. And "it just works" is increasingly a punchline (try using Time Machine in 2022). Apple still has two advantages though: excellent hardware and a focus on privacy. The former was at-risk in the 2016-2020 keyboard era, but they have course-corrected somewhat. The latter seems increasingly at risk with moves like the recent CSAM kerfuffle. Apple's once small but excellent stable of third party software has grown increasingly unpalatable. There are many more apps, sure, but when it seems like 9/10 are either outright scams or subscription services for things as simple as calculators and notes apps it's hard for me to look at their marketplace with anything other than disgust.
- throwanem 5y ago
  Well, I'm not about to try to argue you out of conclusions you've derived from analysis of your own experience; aside from the insult so implied, it would be a waste of both our time.
- csande17 5y ago
  > Their promotion of subscription pricing over other business models is anti-consumer. It's funny you should mention this, because Apple's compatibility treadmill is one of the biggest things driving developers towards the subscription model! If you have to put in work every year just to keep your app working on newer iOS versions, you have to collect revenue from your users every year to pay for that work.

AlexandrB 5y ago

> Anyone who wants access to Apple's base of high-value mobile users. This high-value user is getting increasingly tired of Apple's shit and is actively looking for an alternative. Their stewardship of the App Store is increasingly abysmal. Their promotion of subscription pricing over other business models is anti-consumer. And "it just works" is increasingly a punchline (try using Time Machine in 2022). Apple still has two advantages though: excellent hardware and a focus on privacy. The former was at-risk in the 2016-2020 keyboard era, but they have course-corrected somewhat. The latter seems increasingly at risk with moves like the recent CSAM kerfuffle. Apple's once small but excellent stable of third party software has grown increasingly unpalatable. There are many more apps, sure, but when it seems like 9/10 are either outright scams or subscription services for things as simple as calculators and notes apps it's hard for me to look at their marketplace with anything other than disgust.

throwanem 5y ago
Well, I'm not about to try to argue you out of conclusions you've derived from analysis of your own experience; aside from the insult so implied, it would be a waste of both our time.
csande17 5y ago
> Their promotion of subscription pricing over other business models is anti-consumer. It's funny you should mention this, because Apple's compatibility treadmill is one of the biggest things driving developers towards the subscription model! If you have to put in work every year just to keep your app working on newer iOS versions, you have to collect revenue from your users every year to pay for that work.