Even 15% is too high. It's pretty hard as a developer to lop 30% or even 15% off your top line and still survive in a market that is already really competitive.

Even 15% is too high. It's pretty hard as a developer to lop 30% or even 15% off your top line and still survive in a market that is already really competitive. That's why I got out about a decade ago. You have to spam the hell out of your users with ads and dark patterns and endless freemium tricks so that you can make back that Apple tax and then still have enough left over for an advertising budget and to pay the rest of the bills. If you don't, then your competitors are doing it and they'll have a larger advertising budget and you'll eventually be pushed out. That's why you see so much shit on the app store. The good apps are usually from companies that already have a successful standalone business somewhere else (either physical or a web presence) and don't need to squeeze every last drop of revenue from their apps. I still don't understand how they got away with it in the first place, what if Microsoft said they are entitled to 30% of all revenue generated by all Windows applications?