narwhal

I'm a longtime developer, and this is nothing new. It's been going on for years. If you don't update your app for several years, Apple pulls them, with 30 days warning. It may seem harsh to some, but it's fair. Users don't want to slog through ancient apps in the App Store that don't run on current devices. Aspect ratios change, APIs come and go, notches or none. If you can't update your apps to the latest devices, it only gets harder waiting another year. This is a difference between Apple platforms and Windows. Windows tries to keep 30-year-old software working on the latest OS; Apple says nope. Works for active developers, not great for lazy ones.

lorca2770 said:

Just a question, since time makes me forget. Wasn’t Arm developed by Apple, and Steve Jobs sold the company in the times of necessity? Careful! I am not talking about the false narrative of Microsoft. Only about Arm

In 1990, when Acorn's RISC chip division didn't have the funds to implement Apple's requested changes for Newton, ARM was formed, a joint venture of Apple, VLSI and Acorn (with Acorn's IP). When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, Newton was discontinued and Apple sold its stake in ARM for a big profit, helping Apple's balance sheet until Steve could release iMacs, iPods and eventually iPhones and iPads. (Ironic that both Newton and iPhone were based on ARM.)

I was an Epson user for maybe 20 years, but recently dumped them for a Brother inkjet, which has given us no troubles. Epson cartridges and their new refillable ink tanks were always drying up, requiring cleaning between every print job. Also, Epson's paper handling mechanisms are so flimsy the past 10 years, you can't print on card stock. And for photos, I'm using the drug store down the street. I can send the photos via their web site, then just drive a mile to pick them up. A lot easier than printing photos at home.

lkrupp said:

Oh my, I remember when DivX was a thing. There were even DivX DVDs but you had to have DivX compatible hardware to play them. It failed pretty quickly though.

DivX (media player app) and DIVX (much-despised disposable rental DVDs) aren't related, and I wonder why DivX (media player app) never changed its name. Ayds candies changed their name in 1988, Isis Wallet changed its name in 2014. Makes no sense to use a name everyone hates.

Well, I had Tiles for a couple years -- but they were expensive and not great. Seemed nobody was running the Tile app, so your lost stuff stayed lost. I bought a bunch of Apple's AirTags when they came out and they work better and are cheaper. Tile and now Life360 are a business with no future. And to hear that Life360 sells customer data -- they've slit their own throat.

I get that Epic doesn't like to pay 30% commission to Apple, but Amazon and Netflix didn't want to either and they found a solution that works for them. I'm thinking Epic would be better off negotiating with Google and Apple, not suing them. Make some money while their product is hot. By the time the Epic trial is over, they may not have a product anyone wants. Or more likely they'll get bought out by someone, someone who doesn't want to participate in a multi-year lawsuit.

As for Spotify, I think they have a case. Since Apple competes in music streaming, Spotify should NOT be charged a commission. It gives Apple an unfair advantage. Same with other categories. If the host OS competes, they need to eliminate commissions for competitors in that product category. Probably should do the same for video streaming and audiobooks. Apple's not making money from Netflix and Audible anyway.