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>If apple raised their prices for apps by 5%, clearly most users would not jump ship to android, since they have a large library of apps on iOS and significant

>If apple raised their prices for apps by 5%, clearly most users would not jump ship to android, since they have a large library of apps on iOS and significant other platform lock-in It's not just that; most Apple users actively dislike Android, or think that only Apple makes smartphones (really, I've met people who said this). Apple could easily raise their prices for apps by 100% and not have a significant number of users jump to Android. Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. For the people who don't fit that description, the lock-ins you mention will keep them in line.

randmeerkat 4y ago
> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. Or maybe they just don’t like paying for an Android device that actively spies on literally every moment of their life so other companies can buy the marketing data.
- watwut 4y ago
  I really don't think Apple popularity is due to higher privacy. People deprioritize privacy everywhere else.
  - bigfudge 4y ago
    I think people actually value some of the side effects of privacy on iOS though… one of them is that app developers just can’t be quite as appalling in their abuse of users.
    - cycomanic 4y ago
      Why does anyone think that apple is not spying on its users? They have a massively growing advertising business, that should tell you everything already. The only difference is that they don't want anyone else spying on their users, but that's simply to protect their business, not for the privacy of customers.
mbernstein 4y ago
> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. For the people who don't fit that description, the lock-ins you mention will keep them in line. Or maybe we just like the OS, build quality, or available iOS only applications? Maybe we like the battery life or the quality or the apple ecosystem. Maybe we like prompt, regular, and long term supported security updates. Pretty silly generalization.
- matesz 4y ago
  Small inscription on Apple Pay overlay showing that %30 of purchase is going to Apple? Same with Google
- bruce511 4y ago
  Maybe we just like the idea of a central app store, where everything has to be approved. -makers- want other app stores, but I'm not sure consumers do. I'd go so far as to argue that -consumers- like the single-app-store, and see that as a feature.
  - wvenable 4y ago
    Consumers also don't know what they don't have.
    - eecc 4y ago
      I do know I don’t have to install an alt-store that is going to let its apps track my very soul if I need to install a popular app. E.g. imagine Google rolling their own Play to install Chrome or Maps. Facebook for Whatsapp, Amazon for Kindle et Al, Netflix for its own… etc etc. No the moment that happens it’s over
      - modo_mario 4y ago
        Like what? F-droid?
vxNsr 4y ago
Tbf most iOS users spend $0 in the App Store on an annual basis. I don’t think I know anyone who’s spent money on an app.
- bluescrn 4y ago
  I used to spend money on apps, back when it was possible to buy them. Unfortunately, that's very rare these days. I'm not paying exorbitant subscription fees for relatively trivial apps, let alone falling for the manipulative and often-basically-gambling nonsense of F2P games. Apple are somewhat to blame for these trends though. Unlike 'real software for a real OS', mobile apps tend to need constant ongoing maintenance just to keep them working with OS updates and new devices. You can't just release a finished game/app and expect it to continue to be usable for decades, like the over-20-years-old Paint Shop Pro 7 that I still use almost daily on Windows.
lynx23 4y ago
I am blind. I use Apple. Because Google slacks off with Android accessibility since they decided to play copy-cat with what Apple did. Even after 15 years of trying to catch up, the Android accessibility is still subpar compared to what iOS does. You can argue that Apple users are just Apple users because of the logo and the coolness and the hype and whatever, but I can tell you that users like me have a real reason for staying with Apple: quality!
the_other 4y ago
> Apple could easily raise their prices for apps by 100% and not have a significant number of users jump to Android. Apple doesn't charge for most of its apps. How would this work? Are you arguing that Apple could raise the prices of apps sold through their App Store? Isn't that the developers' choice? To me, that doesn't seem to change the market argument (IANAL, obviously). (I know Apple provides banding and international support so perhaps you're suggesting Apple might shift the bands?)
Silverback_VII 4y ago
> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. One thing Apple has done masterfully is exploiting the status circuit in the human brain. Apple users often claim they pay more because the product is superior in some or many ways, or even argue that it is, in fact, cheaper when considering everything. However, in reality, they pay more because they can. They want to display their Apple products and they want others to see them.

randmeerkat 4y ago

> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. Or maybe they just don’t like paying for an Android device that actively spies on literally every moment of their life so other companies can buy the marketing data.

watwut 4y ago
I really don't think Apple popularity is due to higher privacy. People deprioritize privacy everywhere else.
- bigfudge 4y ago
  I think people actually value some of the side effects of privacy on iOS though… one of them is that app developers just can’t be quite as appalling in their abuse of users.
  - cycomanic 4y ago
    Why does anyone think that apple is not spying on its users? They have a massively growing advertising business, that should tell you everything already. The only difference is that they don't want anyone else spying on their users, but that's simply to protect their business, not for the privacy of customers.

mbernstein 4y ago

> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. For the people who don't fit that description, the lock-ins you mention will keep them in line. Or maybe we just like the OS, build quality, or available iOS only applications? Maybe we like the battery life or the quality or the apple ecosystem. Maybe we like prompt, regular, and long term supported security updates. Pretty silly generalization.

matesz 4y ago
Small inscription on Apple Pay overlay showing that %30 of purchase is going to Apple? Same with Google
bruce511 4y ago
Maybe we just like the idea of a central app store, where everything has to be approved. -makers- want other app stores, but I'm not sure consumers do. I'd go so far as to argue that -consumers- like the single-app-store, and see that as a feature.
- wvenable 4y ago
  Consumers also don't know what they don't have.
  - eecc 4y ago
    I do know I don’t have to install an alt-store that is going to let its apps track my very soul if I need to install a popular app. E.g. imagine Google rolling their own Play to install Chrome or Maps. Facebook for Whatsapp, Amazon for Kindle et Al, Netflix for its own… etc etc. No the moment that happens it’s over
    - modo_mario 4y ago
      Like what? F-droid?

vxNsr 4y ago

Tbf most iOS users spend $0 in the App Store on an annual basis. I don’t think I know anyone who’s spent money on an app.

bluescrn 4y ago
I used to spend money on apps, back when it was possible to buy them. Unfortunately, that's very rare these days. I'm not paying exorbitant subscription fees for relatively trivial apps, let alone falling for the manipulative and often-basically-gambling nonsense of F2P games. Apple are somewhat to blame for these trends though. Unlike 'real software for a real OS', mobile apps tend to need constant ongoing maintenance just to keep them working with OS updates and new devices. You can't just release a finished game/app and expect it to continue to be usable for decades, like the over-20-years-old Paint Shop Pro 7 that I still use almost daily on Windows.

lynx23 4y ago

I am blind. I use Apple. Because Google slacks off with Android accessibility since they decided to play copy-cat with what Apple did. Even after 15 years of trying to catch up, the Android accessibility is still subpar compared to what iOS does. You can argue that Apple users are just Apple users because of the logo and the coolness and the hype and whatever, but I can tell you that users like me have a real reason for staying with Apple: quality!

the_other 4y ago

> Apple could easily raise their prices for apps by 100% and not have a significant number of users jump to Android. Apple doesn't charge for most of its apps. How would this work? Are you arguing that Apple could raise the prices of apps sold through their App Store? Isn't that the developers' choice? To me, that doesn't seem to change the market argument (IANAL, obviously). (I know Apple provides banding and international support so perhaps you're suggesting Apple might shift the bands?)

Silverback_VII 4y ago

> Apple users are happy to pay a premium to be able to carry around a device with an Apple logo on it for everyone around them to see. One thing Apple has done masterfully is exploiting the status circuit in the human brain. Apple users often claim they pay more because the product is superior in some or many ways, or even argue that it is, in fact, cheaper when considering everything. However, in reality, they pay more because they can. They want to display their Apple products and they want others to see them.