robbyx

avon b7 said:

magman1979 said:

And right on cue, the salivating trolls come marching onto EVERY Apple site in existence by the truckload!

Forget trolls. What is your opinion on what is happening on iPhone? 

The rest of the business seems to be doing ok. They have a lot of cash reserves to pull on. That won't save them from a roller coaster ride, short term, but iPhone is suffering. Do you agree with TCs line or do you think he is airbrushing bits? Are prices too high? Is competition playing a part? Are iPhones underperforming on features? Etc.

The smartphone market is mature. I can easily afford the top of the line iPhone model, but I see no reason to upgrade from my 7 Plus. I think a lot of people feel this way.  Even if Apple dropped prices tomorrow, I still wouldn’t upgrade.  My 7 Plus is great. I’d like FaceID, but that’s not enough of a reason to upgrade. 

I dont think prices are the issue. There are iPhone models under $500.  Top of the line is very pricey, but Apple has nice offerings at several price points. The market is saturated and mature and this was bound to happen. 

hummerchine said:

That may or make sense for Netflix...

But how does it make sense for Apple to allow any app on it’s store for free?

There are hard costs associated with running their servers.  I must be missing something...

Change your perspective. The App Store makes iPhones more attractive. It’s a feature. The fact that any iPhone user can find tons of free apps makes the platform more appealing. Apple would be justified, in my mind, if it charged companies like Netflix, who offer a free app and charge for a service outside the app, a fee to cover hosting and bandwidth costs. But wouldn’t that be petty?  I mean, if Apple is that desperate for revenue, they have big problems. 

macarena said:

This is someday going to come back and bite Apple - because it will be seen as an Unfair Business Practise.

Apple claims services revenues are growing rapidly, but this is clearly not healthy. This is the sort of thing that a court or the Justice Department can take cognizance of, and hit them with a really big fine. Maybe even force a split of the company, so that Apple Services becomes a separate and standalone company.

This policy might still be justifiable if Apple isn’t in the streaming business - but now, it’s an extremely uncompetitive practise.

Apple deserves to be split up, so that there is fairness all around.

What exactly is unfair?

I don’t think you understand how the laws concerning monopolies work, in the US anyway. Apple is free to compete in services. There’s no anti-competitive behavior happening. Apple isn’t excluding any competing services from its platforms.

foregoneconclusion said:

The primary concern for Netflix is constant subscriber growth, so I'm not sure what the point of this really is. Seems like an odd move. It's hard to see how eliminating Apple's cut is really that beneficial to them in the larger scheme of things. 

While my first impulse is to agree with you, it comes down to numbers. Maybe most Netflix subscribers already use Netflix.com for payments?  It’s pretty easy math if you have all of the information - which none of us do.

I’m sure Netflix ran the numbers and decided that the money it was paying Apple was better spent elsewhere, like advertising and growing its subscriber base in new markets. Netflix is a global player. While Apple might be a mobile behemoth in wealthier western nations, that can’t be said for the rest of the world. Netflix probably sees huge opportunity in those markets and virtually none of those potential subscribers are Apple customers.  

crosslad said:

Apple should start charging companies like Netflix, that charge customers but give nothing back to Apple, for making their services available through the AppStore. 

That’s crazy. Apple is a HARDWARE company. Services and the App Store are gravy, neither of which exist if people aren’t buying the hardware. Companies like Netflix are giving Apple customers services to enjoy. No services and those customers buy someone else’s hardware. I’d get rid of AppleTV without a second thought if Netflix wasn’t available.