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They are not an advertising company who doesn’t need to uniquely target you for a billion different ads. And no, their app store ads are not the same as Googles

They are not an advertising company who doesn’t need to uniquely target you for a billion different ads. And no, their app store ads are not the same as Googles ads in search, gmail, maps, YouTube, and… Stop saying everyone is equally bad with zero evidence to the contrary. There’s a comment like yours every time Apple is called out as having a better business model here.

robg 3y ago
This, Apple is not primarily an advertising company. I buy quality products from them that last, still using a 2013 iMac that has never had any issues. Even original AirPods work so well, I replace them as the battery degrades.
- beej71 3y ago
  But they will still push to maximize revenue across all divisions, right?
  - Terretta 3y ago
    The ads aren't to maximize their own revenue; that's marketing expense, not ad revenue. The ads that drive their ad revenue are product placement within their store, like Walmart charging for a higher place on a shelf, or featuring a product in a sign at the end of an aisle, or offering it for free at a tasting booth. Walmart doesn't make meaningfully more money when you buy product A or B (not counting their store brand), both are on the shelf, so their motivations are different.
user_named 3y ago
Apple IS am advertising company. $4b and growing from ads. https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/ https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/
- Terretta 3y ago
  Perhaps "ad company" is reductive, as there are different ways to make money for offering visibility. Arguably the same definition of "advertising company" as Walmart, by charging those selling products in its store for placement, display ads, inclusion in promotional materials, etc. Arguably not the same definition as ClearChannel, who will take money from anyone to make every drive in America less scenic by plastering them with billboards. (And who combine data from third parties to understand who is seeing which billboards when.) Apple is a first party supermarket that lets sellers self-promote, Google is operator of third party billboards at scale that reaches and watches all the traffic. That said, I agree with the thread above that Apple taking great pains to anonymize things like maps trips, while selling user searching priority wholesale to Google, is hypocritical. TL;DR: I don't understand why Apple doesn't acquire Kagi, put Kagi basic in iCloud and Kagi Ultimate into Apple One, and go from there.
  - n40487171 3y ago
    Don't doubt that Walmart tracks users/shoppers in depth: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/walmart-says-ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-causing-slight-pullback-by-shoppers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/walmart-s...
  - Jensson 3y ago
    > Apple is a first party supermarket that lets sellers self-promote Apple works hard to change that though. Apple made 26% of their revenue from services last quarter, it was less than 10% 8 years ago, that is where most of their growth is coming from. They did use to make most of their money selling products, but now they started to exploit their platform dominance to make money from all other areas of it as well. Apple today isn't the Apple you bought into 10 years ago. Source of services being $21.21b / $81.8bn = 26%: https://musically.com/2023/08/04/apples-services-revenue-grows-despite-hardware-challenges/ https://musically.com/2023/08/04/apples-services-revenue-gro... > TL;DR: I don't understand why Apple doesn't acquire Kagi, put Kagi basic in iCloud and Kagi Ultimate into Apple One, and go from there. Because they make more by taking money from Google. Why is that hard to understand? Apples goal is to make money.
notarget137 3y ago
Trust is a thing to be earned. Since Apple has anti-RtR and anti-consumer business models I have no other suspicion but Apple is treating my data with the same degree. Stop telling that Apple is not there to screw you where they can because they definately will and are if there are no repercussions.
- throw0101c 3y ago
  > Since Apple has anti-RtR "Apple backs national right-to-repair bill, offering parts, manuals, and tools" * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38024573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38024573
  - notarget137 3y ago
    They have a track record of being anti-repair and suddenly changing strategy is a bigger suspicion. Besides their repair manuals and tools are one of the most terrible ones. Technically they do offer some repair options but it is almost unusable so you are better off without it.
    - zie 3y ago
      They clearly are shifting this, but it takes time for a huge company to shift gears like this.
sifar 3y ago
>> They are not an advertising company who doesn’t need to uniquely target you for a billion different ads. Yet. Apple is running out of multi-billion dollar product ideas. To play the devil's advocate, if google can earn hundreds of billions from ads, one can argue that Apple is leaving that money on the table for a pittance. It is not maximizing shareholder value. /s

robg 3y ago

This, Apple is not primarily an advertising company. I buy quality products from them that last, still using a 2013 iMac that has never had any issues. Even original AirPods work so well, I replace them as the battery degrades.

beej71 3y ago
But they will still push to maximize revenue across all divisions, right?
- Terretta 3y ago
  The ads aren't to maximize their own revenue; that's marketing expense, not ad revenue. The ads that drive their ad revenue are product placement within their store, like Walmart charging for a higher place on a shelf, or featuring a product in a sign at the end of an aisle, or offering it for free at a tasting booth. Walmart doesn't make meaningfully more money when you buy product A or B (not counting their store brand), both are on the shelf, so their motivations are different.

user_named 3y ago

Apple IS am advertising company. $4b and growing from ads. https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/ https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/

Terretta 3y ago
Perhaps "ad company" is reductive, as there are different ways to make money for offering visibility. Arguably the same definition of "advertising company" as Walmart, by charging those selling products in its store for placement, display ads, inclusion in promotional materials, etc. Arguably not the same definition as ClearChannel, who will take money from anyone to make every drive in America less scenic by plastering them with billboards. (And who combine data from third parties to understand who is seeing which billboards when.) Apple is a first party supermarket that lets sellers self-promote, Google is operator of third party billboards at scale that reaches and watches all the traffic. That said, I agree with the thread above that Apple taking great pains to anonymize things like maps trips, while selling user searching priority wholesale to Google, is hypocritical. TL;DR: I don't understand why Apple doesn't acquire Kagi, put Kagi basic in iCloud and Kagi Ultimate into Apple One, and go from there.
- n40487171 3y ago
  Don't doubt that Walmart tracks users/shoppers in depth: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/walmart-says-ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-causing-slight-pullback-by-shoppers https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/walmart-s...
- Jensson 3y ago
  > Apple is a first party supermarket that lets sellers self-promote Apple works hard to change that though. Apple made 26% of their revenue from services last quarter, it was less than 10% 8 years ago, that is where most of their growth is coming from. They did use to make most of their money selling products, but now they started to exploit their platform dominance to make money from all other areas of it as well. Apple today isn't the Apple you bought into 10 years ago. Source of services being $21.21b / $81.8bn = 26%: https://musically.com/2023/08/04/apples-services-revenue-grows-despite-hardware-challenges/ https://musically.com/2023/08/04/apples-services-revenue-gro... > TL;DR: I don't understand why Apple doesn't acquire Kagi, put Kagi basic in iCloud and Kagi Ultimate into Apple One, and go from there. Because they make more by taking money from Google. Why is that hard to understand? Apples goal is to make money.

notarget137 3y ago

Trust is a thing to be earned. Since Apple has anti-RtR and anti-consumer business models I have no other suspicion but Apple is treating my data with the same degree. Stop telling that Apple is not there to screw you where they can because they definately will and are if there are no repercussions.

throw0101c 3y ago
> Since Apple has anti-RtR "Apple backs national right-to-repair bill, offering parts, manuals, and tools" * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38024573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38024573
- notarget137 3y ago
  They have a track record of being anti-repair and suddenly changing strategy is a bigger suspicion. Besides their repair manuals and tools are one of the most terrible ones. Technically they do offer some repair options but it is almost unusable so you are better off without it.
  - zie 3y ago
    They clearly are shifting this, but it takes time for a huge company to shift gears like this.

sifar 3y ago

>> They are not an advertising company who doesn’t need to uniquely target you for a billion different ads. Yet. Apple is running out of multi-billion dollar product ideas. To play the devil's advocate, if google can earn hundreds of billions from ads, one can argue that Apple is leaving that money on the table for a pittance. It is not maximizing shareholder value. /s