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Apple isn't unintelligent. They know what a horrible look this is and the press + government scrutiny it will generate. Thirty percent of all Patreon donations

Apple isn't unintelligent. They know what a horrible look this is and the press + government scrutiny it will generate. Thirty percent of all Patreon donations made on iOS is revenue so tiny it's completely insignificant. Honest question: Why are they doing this? What's the angle I'm missing?

talldayo 2y ago
> Why are they doing this? What's the angle I'm missing? Services are a more reliable source of revenue for Apple than hardware is.
Analemma_ 2y ago
If they make an exception for Patreon they have to begin arguing why they can't do that for everyone (and there's no good answer). From their perspective it's easier to try to hold the line absolutely.
- notnmeyer 2y ago
  i agree with this take
klyrs 2y ago
Why do CEO salaries keep beating inflation while the rest of us aren't? See money, take money.
tchbnl 2y ago
>What's the angle I'm missing? Greed
- from-nibly 2y ago
  greed does not make you go after crappy returns.
londons_explore 2y ago
I suspect that making exceptions to their "30% of all digital services" rule opens them up to lawsuits of favouring one company over another, not being a level playing field, etc. Since they are in a near-monopoly position, claims of an uneven playing field might trigger really bad judgements against them (ie. 'Apple must split their hardware/software businesses', or 'Apple's hardware arm may not deal in mobile apps')
colpabar 2y ago
> so tiny it's completely insignificant. What is even more insignificant is the number of people who will stop using iphones over this, which will be very close to zero.
wahnfrieden 2y ago
their policy is to only allow donations/tips without taking a slice if they're to registered charities, or if the client receives one-on-one services (not access to some digital goods that other users also get, for instance). so this is strictly in line with their policy.
jordanb 2y ago
Honestly they're probably trying to get ahead of anti-trust, in a twisted way. Basically Apple has been caught being willing to negotiate with big app developers like spotify and applying the 30 percent fee to smaller developers while refusing to negotiate. This can be seen as collusion amongst the powerful silicon valley firms to give eachother sweetheart deals. Apple is now ending these deals and then as blowback occurs they will try to aim the criticism at Lina Kahn saying, you know "she's the reason why your spotify on iphone got so expensive."
axoltl 2y ago
They could be - however foolhardy - closing off potential avenues for people to attack them in court? I could see someone making the argument "but you're letting <insert other app> use alternate payment methods!".

talldayo 2y ago

> Why are they doing this? What's the angle I'm missing? Services are a more reliable source of revenue for Apple than hardware is.

Analemma_ 2y ago

If they make an exception for Patreon they have to begin arguing why they can't do that for everyone (and there's no good answer). From their perspective it's easier to try to hold the line absolutely.

notnmeyer 2y ago
i agree with this take

klyrs 2y ago

Why do CEO salaries keep beating inflation while the rest of us aren't? See money, take money.

tchbnl 2y ago

>What's the angle I'm missing? Greed

from-nibly 2y ago
greed does not make you go after crappy returns.

londons_explore 2y ago

I suspect that making exceptions to their "30% of all digital services" rule opens them up to lawsuits of favouring one company over another, not being a level playing field, etc. Since they are in a near-monopoly position, claims of an uneven playing field might trigger really bad judgements against them (ie. 'Apple must split their hardware/software businesses', or 'Apple's hardware arm may not deal in mobile apps')

colpabar 2y ago

> so tiny it's completely insignificant. What is even more insignificant is the number of people who will stop using iphones over this, which will be very close to zero.

wahnfrieden 2y ago

their policy is to only allow donations/tips without taking a slice if they're to registered charities, or if the client receives one-on-one services (not access to some digital goods that other users also get, for instance). so this is strictly in line with their policy.

jordanb 2y ago

Honestly they're probably trying to get ahead of anti-trust, in a twisted way. Basically Apple has been caught being willing to negotiate with big app developers like spotify and applying the 30 percent fee to smaller developers while refusing to negotiate. This can be seen as collusion amongst the powerful silicon valley firms to give eachother sweetheart deals. Apple is now ending these deals and then as blowback occurs they will try to aim the criticism at Lina Kahn saying, you know "she's the reason why your spotify on iphone got so expensive."

axoltl 2y ago

They could be - however foolhardy - closing off potential avenues for people to attack them in court? I could see someone making the argument "but you're letting <insert other app> use alternate payment methods!".