4 ms·

They also run the local government and ban any other malls from existing. Nothing could be more rent-seeking.

Dig1t 3y ago
In this metaphor, another mall would be another platform, e.g. Android. Apple isn’t stopping anyone else from creating a new platform, though it does seem pretty difficult. See: Samsung, Huawei, BlackBerry, etc
- slashdev 3y ago
  There are two malls, Apple and Android on different sides of town. Both have a high level of foot traffic. There's a wide river with only one rickety old bridge joining the two halves of the town. People on the one side of the town almost never go to the mall on the other side of town. So both malls have a monopoly on their side of the town, and you have no choice but to pick one or both malls to setup your store and sell your wares. Both charge incredibly high rents, but then what choice do you have? There's just the two malls, and nobody has successfully started another mall in a decade.
  - arcticbull 3y ago
    Is it possible that on Android, where other malls have been permitted for a long time (and sideloading, too) - that there really just isn't much demand for another mall? Maybe they haven't been successful because nobody really wants to deal with another mall. Maybe this will be a complete no-op for Apple if they allow other app stores, too. If they allowed other app stores, I wouldn't make the move. I get a ton of value out of Apple's ecosystem, including - maybe especially - the ability to see what subscriptions I have and cancel them with a single click without even interacting with the app vendor. idk what they'd have to do to make me move over, but man, it'd have to be demonstrably valuable - not just the same thing but different 3 feet over that way. [edit] What if I told you Amazon had its own Android App Store, and literally nobody cares. [1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GP96AU3MQ58FMV8U https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
    - what_ever 3y ago
      > Is it possible that on Android, where other malls have been permitted for a long time (and sideloading, too) - that there really just isn't much demand for another mall? Maybe they haven't been successful because nobody really wants to deal with another mall. Maybe this will be a complete no-op for Apple if they allow other app stores, too. Yes, that's exactly the reason Apple is not allowing other malls. /s If it's so harmless for Apple, why not just allow other malls? > If they allowed other app stores, I wouldn't make the move. I get a ton of value out of Apple's ecosystem, including - maybe especially - the ability to see what subscriptions I have and cancel them with a single click without even interacting with the app vendor. What makes you think other app stores can't do it? What if apps are cheaper on other app stores because other app stores don't charge 30% tax?
      - arcticbull 3y ago
        > Yes, that's exactly the reason Apple is not allowing other malls. /s If it's so harmless for Apple, why not just allow other malls? I'm sure it's partly related to cost, but also, part of what Apple users value is a consistent and trusted experience.
        what_ever 3y ago
        Yes, like 80 (cost)/20 (experience).
    - ketralnis 3y ago
      > idk what they'd have to do to make me move over, but man, it'd have to be demonstrably valuable - not just the same thing but different 3 feet over that way. - Since Apple is currently charging 30%, another app store might charge only 10% and so you might be able to get your spotify subscription for 20% less. - A provider of especially expensive software (say a CAD or Mathematica) might be unwilling to cede so much of their margin to anybody at all and may prefer to run their own single-item "store", making them the only place to get that particular item. - Same for especially inexpensive software. Open source game ports that don't want to pay Apple's developer fees. They may make so little margin, including 0, that they aren't feasible with Apple's tax. New software may become sustainable to develop and distribute that isn't currently. - Porn. Emulators. Anything that doesn't conform to Apple's capricious reviewers. Software that does conform but the pain of dealing with Apple made them give up. The kinds of things that are available on the jailbroken appstores currently. I'm glad you personally don't have a need for any of these things but that's hardly evidence that the market for it shouldn't be allowed to exist.
highwaylights 3y ago
There’s only another year to get out of it anyway. iOS will be allowing other stores in the EU before then, and it’s hard to see other places not passing similar legislation when their citizens ask why it’s allowed in the EU but not there.
- lapcat 3y ago
  > it’s hard to see other places not passing similar legislation when their citizens ask why it’s allowed in the EU but not there. I'm still waiting for European-style health care in the US. ;-) We don't have a GDPR-style law either.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    California's got the CCPA. It's not Federal, but it's something. https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa
  - ffhhttt 3y ago
    > I'm still waiting for European-style health care in the US. ;-) Different European countries have wildly different healthcare systems. e.g. the Swiss system is privatized to an even higher degree than the one in US.

In this metaphor, another mall would be another platform, e.g. Android. Apple isn’t stopping anyone else from creating a new platform, though it does seem pretty difficult. See: Samsung, Huawei, BlackBerry, etc

slashdev 3y ago
There are two malls, Apple and Android on different sides of town. Both have a high level of foot traffic. There's a wide river with only one rickety old bridge joining the two halves of the town. People on the one side of the town almost never go to the mall on the other side of town. So both malls have a monopoly on their side of the town, and you have no choice but to pick one or both malls to setup your store and sell your wares. Both charge incredibly high rents, but then what choice do you have? There's just the two malls, and nobody has successfully started another mall in a decade.
- arcticbull 3y ago
  Is it possible that on Android, where other malls have been permitted for a long time (and sideloading, too) - that there really just isn't much demand for another mall? Maybe they haven't been successful because nobody really wants to deal with another mall. Maybe this will be a complete no-op for Apple if they allow other app stores, too. If they allowed other app stores, I wouldn't make the move. I get a ton of value out of Apple's ecosystem, including - maybe especially - the ability to see what subscriptions I have and cancel them with a single click without even interacting with the app vendor. idk what they'd have to do to make me move over, but man, it'd have to be demonstrably valuable - not just the same thing but different 3 feet over that way. [edit] What if I told you Amazon had its own Android App Store, and literally nobody cares. [1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GP96AU3MQ58FMV8U https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
  - what_ever 3y ago
    > Is it possible that on Android, where other malls have been permitted for a long time (and sideloading, too) - that there really just isn't much demand for another mall? Maybe they haven't been successful because nobody really wants to deal with another mall. Maybe this will be a complete no-op for Apple if they allow other app stores, too. Yes, that's exactly the reason Apple is not allowing other malls. /s If it's so harmless for Apple, why not just allow other malls? > If they allowed other app stores, I wouldn't make the move. I get a ton of value out of Apple's ecosystem, including - maybe especially - the ability to see what subscriptions I have and cancel them with a single click without even interacting with the app vendor. What makes you think other app stores can't do it? What if apps are cheaper on other app stores because other app stores don't charge 30% tax?
    - arcticbull 3y ago
      > Yes, that's exactly the reason Apple is not allowing other malls. /s If it's so harmless for Apple, why not just allow other malls? I'm sure it's partly related to cost, but also, part of what Apple users value is a consistent and trusted experience.
      - what_ever 3y ago
        Yes, like 80 (cost)/20 (experience).
  - ketralnis 3y ago
    > idk what they'd have to do to make me move over, but man, it'd have to be demonstrably valuable - not just the same thing but different 3 feet over that way. - Since Apple is currently charging 30%, another app store might charge only 10% and so you might be able to get your spotify subscription for 20% less. - A provider of especially expensive software (say a CAD or Mathematica) might be unwilling to cede so much of their margin to anybody at all and may prefer to run their own single-item "store", making them the only place to get that particular item. - Same for especially inexpensive software. Open source game ports that don't want to pay Apple's developer fees. They may make so little margin, including 0, that they aren't feasible with Apple's tax. New software may become sustainable to develop and distribute that isn't currently. - Porn. Emulators. Anything that doesn't conform to Apple's capricious reviewers. Software that does conform but the pain of dealing with Apple made them give up. The kinds of things that are available on the jailbroken appstores currently. I'm glad you personally don't have a need for any of these things but that's hardly evidence that the market for it shouldn't be allowed to exist.

highwaylights 3y ago

There’s only another year to get out of it anyway. iOS will be allowing other stores in the EU before then, and it’s hard to see other places not passing similar legislation when their citizens ask why it’s allowed in the EU but not there.

lapcat 3y ago
> it’s hard to see other places not passing similar legislation when their citizens ask why it’s allowed in the EU but not there. I'm still waiting for European-style health care in the US. ;-) We don't have a GDPR-style law either.
- fragmede 3y ago
  California's got the CCPA. It's not Federal, but it's something. https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa
- ffhhttt 3y ago
  > I'm still waiting for European-style health care in the US. ;-) Different European countries have wildly different healthcare systems. e.g. the Swiss system is privatized to an even higher degree than the one in US.