highframerate

lkrupp said:

Does this article mean to imply that Apple is unaware of this and is not tracking it? Seems so. Only Microsoft cares about Apple users, not Apple?

No.

rob53 said:

Actually it does because side loading would make it easier to install malware without any problem. There would be no controls stopping it. You know I’m right. 

You are right. It is the cost of freedom. So iOS is an excellent choice for those who do not wish to pay that cost, as are other closed ecosystems such as gaming consoles. (Or at least XBox, Nintendo and PlayStation. On the upcoming Steam Deck, that will be a Linux system so you will be able to do anything with it that you want.)

lkrupp said:

So it looks like Apple is trying to avoid paying 30% to Google but wants its 30% from Epic?

Apples and oranges (no pun intended). Epic pays 30% to have its app hosted in the App Store. I find app store charges to be not only very reasonable but necessary. As for it is 30% ... I personally believe that for Apple and Google that is a bit high, but the reality is that you could lower it to 3% and some people would still claim that it is too high. But in this case, Google isn't hosting anything. I mean, they do host the Apple TV app, but they don't "need" to use Google as a backend to perform purchases and rentals. It is no different in theory from Netflix only allowing signups over the web to avoid the 30% fee from Apple (and Google). In practice this now requires Apple hardware to buy or rent movies and TV shows but that is different from Apple merely trying to avoid the 30%.