Apple agrees to App Store changes letting developers email users about payment options

29

u/nclh77 19d ago

And everyone down voted when I said this litigation wasn't a slam dunk for Apple.

And it's getting worse for them by the week.

Greed!

7

u/JumboRaising2021 19d ago

Astonishing this wasn’t the position Apple had to start with. So they get bad PR, millions in legal fees, and it ended up where you and many like me said it would!

7

u/nclh77 19d ago

I've read some of what's been transpiring. The arrogance and abject greed of Apple is mind numbing. Along with the greed and outsize profits. Requesting a jury trial was smart, Apple looks like shit.

1

u/PieYet91 19d ago

It’s literally their business model they were fighting for. They don’t make the majority of money from phone sales.

2

u/nclh77 19d ago

Nah, it is greed they are fighting for.

If all they had was phone sales, they'd still be one of the largest companies on earth.

18

u/areopagitic 19d ago

This makes me irrationally angry.

Apple has raked in billions upon billions - over the past decade off the backs of developers which schemes such as this. Before the anti-trust winds were blowing against them they had no problem giving the middle finger or banning anyone who didn't agree to their rents.

Now that they're basically being forced, they're slowly trying to concede things (which are still miniscule compared to earnings). They're still protecting their golden goose walled gardens, and still going to make more money than medium sized countries, and still stuff as much money as they possibly can in offshore accounts where its hidden from taxation.

Seriously Apple. Just do the right thing.

9

u/Fabtomas 19d ago edited 19d ago

I stopped reading at “off the backs of developers”…

Apple created the market place the developers have an opportunity to make a living off of.

So ungrateful!

12

u/yes_but_not_that 19d ago

Yeah, app developer here. This all just makes me feel kind of ¯\(ツ)/¯. Like, it’s instant worldwide distribution to 100s of millions of people.

30% isn’t that crazy when you think about what other retailers do to manufacturers. Walmart literally makes some brands buy down the price of their own products (forcing a loss) just for store placement.

0

u/logosobscura 19d ago

Did they?

They just built an App Store which had nothing in it, and it became huge?

Is that how you think anything works? Why Windows still dominates business machines? Really?

2

u/Fabtomas 19d ago

“Just”…

Okay, let’s watch you replicate it.

They built it, the device, the “empty” market place, the hype machine… they delivered what exists.

It’s a fallacy to think oh well yeah, anyone could have done the same, this is really not a big deal.

0

u/logosobscura 19d ago

Was it empty? Did they even touch the hype machine that got them to market dominance, or was it a problem they learned to harness? Was the App Store even part of the original release? Didn’t say anyone could have done it, but it’s a fallacy to say only Apple could have as if it’s some kind of divine right, and it ignores a significant part of what Jobs brought to the table when he came back after failing the first time around, and failing pretty damn hard.

4

u/UrTwiN 19d ago

Why exactly should Apple not be allowed to dictate the terms for its own platform?

8

u/EmperorArthur 19d ago

Because users don't have a choice. Let's go through some historical context in the US:

Warranty void if removed stickers have been illegal since 1975

That same law states that qualified third party repair does not void the warranty.

Microsoft faced severe anti-trust examination for bundling IE in 2001

Today:

Apple refuses to sell parts, and is somewhere between breaking the law or using a technical loophole by making their products unrepairable

Researchers discovered that they were secretly and deliberately slowing down old phones.*

Apple has made their app store the only way to download software

As part of that they have a proven track record of removing competitors from that platform

They then to take an absurdly large cut from app developers, who don't have a choice.

Oh, and Apple plans to start scanning messages sent through their app.

It's almost like Apple leverages its market dominance in one space in order to make money in other spaces, to the disadvantage of the general public. Something which, traditionally, has been illegal.

Put another way, politicians and courts today are far more tolerant of large companies controlling products we own, and of shady business practices than two decades ago.

* They might say it's for battery reasons, but it was for everyone until they got caught.

2

u/Livid_Effective5607 18d ago

Microsoft faced severe anti-trust examination for bundling IE in 2001

Oh man, I remember when Microsoft was broken up due to anti trust laws.

Oh wait.

They then to take an absurdly large cut from app developers, who don't have a choice.

I believe it's 15% for most developers?

Oh, and Apple plans to start scanning messages sent through their app.

No, they're not.

1

u/Chicken-n-Waffles 19d ago

Yeah. I don't get this either. I don't want a developer emailing me on an app for other payment options. There too much to go wrong

2

u/NightFire45 19d ago

They can't. Only when you're subscribed to a different list.

1

u/plyitnit 19d ago

Like but sec?

1

u/nocommentallowed 19d ago

Some apps you will have to purchase outside the store? And you give credit card to even more sites? Or I am understanding this wrong?

1

u/Enough_Ladder9623 19d ago

Wow…so progressive! I can use the email I already have separate from Apple with apples permission now.

Well gee isn’t that mighty kind of you. :-D

-5

u/kauthonk 19d ago

Amazing.
I could list why, but so many reasons.

0

u/bartturner 18d ago

It is just insane the anti competitive things Apple has been getting away with and with no idea they been doing this type of sh*t.

As an investor it does kind of scare me what else will get disclosed.