dantheman827

glennh said:

As an Apple Shareholder, I say use this country as an example by charging every App that by passes the in app charge, a list fee that covers Store Cost, Tool Development Cost, IP & Licensing Cost and Legal Cost.

These free loaders should not be allowed to list their App in the App Store for Free. Their customers should be charged the full 30% or 15% fee before they can download or update the app from the App Store on a yearly basis to ensure Apple gets paid upfront! 

No such thing as a free lunch, especially on shareholders’ dimes! 

Then Apple should be forced to allow a means other than the App Store for installation of software.

Companies don't always want to have their lunch for free, but the 30% that Apple charges for payment processing is quite ridiculous.

I say drop it to a flat 15% across the board or allow "sideloading"

Apple can't have their cake and eat it too, no matter how much they whine and complain.

entropys said:

Walmart can't tell Target "You can't build your store here because we have one of ours in the city already.", but Apple is doing exactly that with the App Store.

You might be surprised at the myriad local laws that prevent exactly that. In my country thee are all sorts of regulations about how close newsagents and pharmacies can be etc. and the list is very long.

That's something that is country-specific though... in the US, you can literally have a Walgreens and CVS on opposing street corners.

It also isn't a case of the store telling another company that they can't build their own store.

foregoneconclusion said:

mark fearing said: It's only weird when you look at the retail and sales environment as a whole. For instance, within Walmart, I'd not expect them to have posters for Target prices. Or at a restaurant they don't also show you the menu and prices from the restaurant across the street. But I get that this digital market is 'different'. But I think it's very much a debate about what is different with it. 

IMO, the debate per anti-steering is based on a false pretense: that it's somehow difficult for an iPhone user to be aware that app developers could have an online presence outside the App Store. It just seems silly for the government to act like people in 2021 aren't aware the internet exists or that commerce takes place on the internet too. 

Are you, and were you prior to being asked this question aware that YouTube charges $15.99 in-app but $11.99 on their website?

Do you think it's fair that they can't tell you there is a discount available outside of the app?

And if you weren't aware and have been paying $15.99 in-app instead of $11.99, do you feel you've been financially harmed as a customer?

It's about being able to tell consumers that there's another option available that they likely aren't aware of.

mark fearing said:

foregoneconclusion said:

Not sure why people have latched onto anti-steering as somehow harmful. It's a standard practice throughout the business world. Limiting how companies can provide preferential treatment for their own products makes sense in situations where either consumers would expect neutrality (like search) OR the company itself is claiming that everyone is treated the same (Apple makes this claim with the App Store). 

It's only weird when you look at the retail and sales environment as a whole. For instance, within Walmart, I'd not expect them to have posters for Target prices. Or at a restaurant they don't also show you the menu and prices from the restaurant across the street. But I get that this digital market is 'different'. But I think it's very much a debate about what is different with it. As mush as people have complained about Apple charing that 15 or 30% in the App Store, all grocery stores charge a shelving fee. And wholesale sellers have to pay money (or discount) for better sell space. That has been deemed legal. The contradictions are rife. 

The thing is though, Apple is the sole provider of apps, there is no competing stores like there is in the retail space.

Walmart has Target and numerous other stores they compete with... The App Store has none...

Some may argue that the Play Store is competition, but how can you really say that when you need a completely different device in order to access it?

iOS competes with Android, the App Store does not compete with the Play Store, and that's where the comparison to retail falls apart.

Walmart can't tell Target "You can't build your store here because we have one of ours in the city already.", but Apple is doing exactly that with the App Store.