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I will miss the handy subscription overview and a minimal amount of clicks to cancel or request a refund. I wish we could have both.

mjburgess 3y ago
... you can. There's nothing stopping apple requiring subscriptions to appear on a unified management interface.
- nozzlegear 3y ago
  Sorry, am I missing something? If I go to App Store => My Profile => Subscriptjons, I can see every subscription that I’m paying for in a unified view and I can cancel them all in a couple taps from there. That includes my Apple Music (Apple One) subscription.
  - pornel 3y ago
    Apple could have an API for putting a Cancel button and other info for 3rd party subscriptions in the unified subscription screen. App Store requirement to integrate subscriptions with it would be uncontroversial, unless they also slapped a 27% because-we-can fee on that API. Apple creates these either-or narratives that you either accept exactly what they want at their egregiously inflated price, or you will get the crappiest most inconvenient basically fraudulent alternative. As if nothing was possible in between.
  - switch007 3y ago
    Apple could support different subscription platforms in that view
  - nulld3v 3y ago
    Yes, they are saying that Apple can require any app in the app store that wants to sell a subscription also must allow the user to cancel the subscription through that App Store UI (even if the user doesn't pay for the subscription through Apple).
  - Terretta 3y ago
    Today, you're not missing much. Tomorrow, you'll be "missing" more subs from that unified list as the payment methods fragment.
- gok 3y ago
  The EU would surely fine them for that too.
- tzs 3y ago
  How could that possibly get past EU antitrust regulators? My Spotify subscription, for example, was purchased on their website, which I got to via a browser on my desktop computer. Apple has had no involvement whatsoever in my relationship with Spotify other than as a provider of some of the platforms on which I run Spotify's apps to use my Spotify service. If Apple were to tell Spotify that Spotify must provide a way to cancel my totally outside of Apple Spotify subscription from Apple's subscription managements interface as a condition of being allowed on the App store I can't see the EU allowing that.
  - arlcode 3y ago
    I can see that as a requirement allowed to maintain customer security. And Spotify is already obligated by european law to allow easy cancling. If apple requires them to use an api to pass "basic techincal compliance" (they could just use a callback and let the app handle the rest) that would be very much in the spirit and the letter of the law.
saurik 3y ago
I just can't imagine paying 30% more for a subscription to a third-party company offering a protection racket just so I can see it in a list and cancel it slightly more easily... there is just no way that that pencils out; I have bought a things throughout my life from lots of random parties and there is no way that I've lost enough money on hard to manage or refund payments that taxing me a full 30% to prevent it wouldn't be costing me a ridiculous amount of money.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
  That's always been how I've seen it. As far as regulations go: - Let Apple require that apps accept Apple Pay as one form of payment - Let Apple take whatever cut they want for Apple Pay - Let apps inform users about Apple's cut - Let apps inform users about alternative, cheaper, ways to pay. How could anyone be against transparency? Let all the folks that allegedly love the "convenience" of Apple Pay so much continue to pay an extra 30%.

mjburgess 3y ago

... you can. There's nothing stopping apple requiring subscriptions to appear on a unified management interface.

nozzlegear 3y ago
Sorry, am I missing something? If I go to App Store => My Profile => Subscriptjons, I can see every subscription that I’m paying for in a unified view and I can cancel them all in a couple taps from there. That includes my Apple Music (Apple One) subscription.
- pornel 3y ago
  Apple could have an API for putting a Cancel button and other info for 3rd party subscriptions in the unified subscription screen. App Store requirement to integrate subscriptions with it would be uncontroversial, unless they also slapped a 27% because-we-can fee on that API. Apple creates these either-or narratives that you either accept exactly what they want at their egregiously inflated price, or you will get the crappiest most inconvenient basically fraudulent alternative. As if nothing was possible in between.
- switch007 3y ago
  Apple could support different subscription platforms in that view
- nulld3v 3y ago
  Yes, they are saying that Apple can require any app in the app store that wants to sell a subscription also must allow the user to cancel the subscription through that App Store UI (even if the user doesn't pay for the subscription through Apple).
- Terretta 3y ago
  Today, you're not missing much. Tomorrow, you'll be "missing" more subs from that unified list as the payment methods fragment.
gok 3y ago
The EU would surely fine them for that too.
tzs 3y ago
How could that possibly get past EU antitrust regulators? My Spotify subscription, for example, was purchased on their website, which I got to via a browser on my desktop computer. Apple has had no involvement whatsoever in my relationship with Spotify other than as a provider of some of the platforms on which I run Spotify's apps to use my Spotify service. If Apple were to tell Spotify that Spotify must provide a way to cancel my totally outside of Apple Spotify subscription from Apple's subscription managements interface as a condition of being allowed on the App store I can't see the EU allowing that.
- arlcode 3y ago
  I can see that as a requirement allowed to maintain customer security. And Spotify is already obligated by european law to allow easy cancling. If apple requires them to use an api to pass "basic techincal compliance" (they could just use a callback and let the app handle the rest) that would be very much in the spirit and the letter of the law.

saurik 3y ago

I just can't imagine paying 30% more for a subscription to a third-party company offering a protection racket just so I can see it in a list and cancel it slightly more easily... there is just no way that that pencils out; I have bought a things throughout my life from lots of random parties and there is no way that I've lost enough money on hard to manage or refund payments that taxing me a full 30% to prevent it wouldn't be costing me a ridiculous amount of money.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
That's always been how I've seen it. As far as regulations go: - Let Apple require that apps accept Apple Pay as one form of payment - Let Apple take whatever cut they want for Apple Pay - Let apps inform users about Apple's cut - Let apps inform users about alternative, cheaper, ways to pay. How could anyone be against transparency? Let all the folks that allegedly love the "convenience" of Apple Pay so much continue to pay an extra 30%.