cropr

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cropr
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  • Developer says Apple rejected update for not forcing auto-billing on users

    croprcropr
    sflocal said:
    Peza said:
    sflocal said:
    dysamoria said:
    I’m absolutely with the developer here, on this issue.
    And I’m firmly in the Apple camp.  Apple is the one doing all the work obtaining and keeping its large base of customers willing to pay for apps.  If 30% is too high given what Apple does they’re more than happy to go to the Android camp, where they probably make zero money.

    70% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

    whiners.
    I bet you own Apple shares. Never on the side of the customer, and this developer never stated they don’t want to give Apple its cut, their complaint is clearly over Apple forcing them to take money from the apps customers, basically here’s a free trial, enter all your payment details and we will charge you if you don’t cancel, it’s a dirty trick purely designed to milk money from the customer, putting the giant corporation Frits and foremost and the customer a very far behind lonely second. 
    It’s not only an anti competitive move but very clearly anti consumer and I’d argue in come countries potentially illegal. I’m glad the developer stood up to Apple on this one.
    As a developer myself, I remember easily the years of boxed software and the difficulty of actually making money in that market.  Factor in overhead, marketing, distribution, and everything else associated with selling independently, a 30% cut to access that market is chump change.

    Apple created this market that developers have access to.  Not the other way around.

    keep whining.
    I am also a developer. My most profitable app manages elections for general assemblies of companies and non profit organizations.   It is available on iOS , on Android and as a web application.  I am offering a free trial version of my app: maximum 10 voters and 5 voting topics.   Organizations must register and pay for more voters or more topics. There is no auto-billing.   The app was approved without issues, but reading this article I am not so sure anymore if the next version will pass.  

    If I would only make the app for iOS, I would have no sales.  My customers (the organizations) want a solution where all  shareholders/members can vote, irrespective of the device the voters are using. A survey (110 organizations replied) revealed that exactly 0 discovered my app via the App Store.   Which basically means that the marketing story you are telling does not apply for my app: Apple does not bring me any customers.  But of course for your apps this could be different   

    After the survey I made the decision to limit the registration and the payment functionality to the web app only, so I don't have to pay 30% for something that does not bring real value.   Voters can still use the iOS and Android app for all elections: paid and unpaid




    muthuk_vanalingamavon b7elijahg

  • Apple approves blocked Hey updates as its works on 'a path forward'

    croprcropr
    lkrupp said:
    Schiller told Hey what they needed to do and they did it. There was no change of heart on Apple's part. It was all about offering a non-functioning app in the App Store because Hey didn't want to pay Apple for the privilege of being in the App Store.
    There is no such thing as a privilege of being in the App store.   It costs 99$ a year to have an iOS developer license

    lkruppavon b7

  • European Commission launches antitrust probes over Apple's App Store and Apple Pay

    croprcropr
    I own a software company which  develops iOS and Android apps (and other things).     I've done business with the EU commission, so I know a little how the EU commission thinks and operates.
        
    1)  The EU commission is looking at this from the app developer perspective, not from the end user perspective.  So claims that there is no case because Apple has only 25% market share or that the consumer can always buy an Android phone, are not relevant.   It is the market share of iOS from the app developer perspective that counts.  And as most app developer companies develop for both iOS and Android, so the marketshare is more in the magnitude of 80% to  90%.  
     
    2) The EU looks to the App Store as a separate service unrelated to the hardware business of Apple.  Which means there must be a level playing field for third party apps and for Apple apps. The EU does not mind that Apple imposes severe technical requirements   But the way Apple operates the App Store (the only distribution channel for iOS apps with predefined 15%-30% cut, and a lot of very one sided business rules) raises a lot eyebrows in the EU.  Knowing the EU, Apple will not have a fighting chance if it does not loosen the business rules of the App store

    3) "Why don't you develop on Android if you don't like the App store rules" is not argument that the EU is sensitive for.   A lot of apps only make sense if they are available on all platforms.   My company is making an election app that is used at general assemblies of companies and large non profit organizations.  This apps makes only sense if all attendees (iPhone and Android users) can vote.

    4) It is not so clear for Apple Pay.  I do see that financial institution who want to make banking app that uses the NFC chip, have a harder time on iOS than on Android, but for me Apple cuts itself with this approach.  I've done some IT consulting work with a bank, and in terms of an integrated banking service,  its offer on Android is miles ahead to the iOS version.   That is the reason that I always use my Android phone and not my iPhone for the banking services.     



    GeorgeBMacCarnage

  • Germany changes stance on Apple-Google contact tracing project

    croprcropr
    acheron2018 said:

    The difference between corporations spying on you and governments doing it is that a corporation can’t (yet) send armed mercenaries to your door at 3:00 AM.

    What a distorted view on the reality in most democratic countries. The chance that my government would be doing something like that is 0 percent, and the people would vote the government out of office at the next election.    The chance that a, possible foreign, company would abuse the data is much higher (just think of Facebook) and if this happens, I cannot do anything about it.
    GeorgeBMacStrangeDays

  • Apple's SMS one-time passcode proposal moves forward with help from Google

    croprcropr
    fastasleep said:
    Here's something I don't understand. Why does Apple's 2FA send a login notice and code to the same device you're trying to log into something with (ie your iCloud or Apple Support account etc). Doesn't that defeat the purpose, even if it is a "trusted device"?
    You are absolutely right.  2FA using the same device does not improve the security that much.  

    The SMS should be sent to a different device.  In case your device is compromised by a hacker, sending an SMS to that same device does not make sense, because the hacker will receive the SMS as well.

    jony0