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Comment by throwawayinside | Hacker News Reader

If you are a developer with a SaaS business, be very afraid. Apple is going to do everything possible to collect a 30% tax on your business to fix their growth problem. It’s ironic, really. The company that mastered tax evasion is about to become the world’s most determined tax collector.

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Or you can just distribute the apps without using the platform's payment processor.

No one says you have to use Apple's payment processor. Direct users to sign up on your website and then have them download the apps free of charge.

Btw; So does Google and Microsoft. They all take a cut of every app sale. The difference is the rate they take out.

Oh, for Apple, it's 30% the first year of the sub only, it goes down to 15% after that.

> No one says you have to use Apple's payment processor. Direct users to sign up on your website and then have them download the apps free of charge.

Apple has removed apps from the App Store for doing this [1]. You have to provide an in-app subscription option that gives Apple the 30%/15% cut.

[1] https://changemap.co/hellocode/exist/task/1855-apple-blockin...

Interesting, I haven't heard of any other apps having this issue.

Did Exist offer a way to sign up new accounts in their app? If yes, that may be it.

Slack doesn't have IAPs and yet, I can sign in with paid accounts just fine. There are other apps that were like this but they didn't have a way to sign up in-app IIRC.

Yes, you can do this, but you can’t have ANY connection between your app and your web site. Your app can’t mention a subscription, can’t link to your site, etc.

So it only works if users first go to your web site, sign up, and then get the app on the App Store. If they get your app on the App Store, there’s no way to convert them without Apple’s blessing.

Essentially Apple contractually mandates friction between you and iOS users and then charges you to alleviate it.

It's a pretty good business model tho. Amazon, both retail and cloud, costco, are both doing pretty well.

Huh? Are you implying that if I create a web app, Apple is going to somehow take 30% of my revenues? How?

Presumably if there's an iOS app for it and users are able to subscribe to your service via the app.

If it means I don’t have to handle payments in my own system and it improves distribution, that’s an awesome deal. That gives me more cycles to improve my actual product and not spend so much time with billing and payments.

Ib4 apple downvote storm.

Dev here, I actively campaign against Apple (and FAAG) products.

They seem like a danger to our capitalistic system as they have enough power to sway politics.

Apple has always been anti-dev from my point of view, forcing users to use their hardware and pay to produce apps.

While there doesnt seem to be many 'good guys', Apple has used their weight to constantly do unpopular things for their customers and developers.

My only hope is that Apple will fail to innovate, and users will begin to go toward more consumer and dev friendly high end products.

Well, I'm not trying to goad a downvote storm. But, having dealt with Apple, getting my China factory approved in the Apple MFi program. In about three months, their terrible and unethical business practices in dealing with their Apple MFI program factories in China, literally made me completely switch my business strategy, and end up telling them to shove it. Blessing in disguise. I'll prefer to build popcorn stands, literally anything, is better than spending our time and resources to be abused by them.

What about the fact that Apple is the only big guy not profiting off the mass harvesting of personal data? I think the market is significantly worse off without their influence (although this article does raise alarm bells).

They have hostile business tactics, does that wash that they use your data internally at Apple only?

For someone that doesnt mind getting tailored ads, the privacy argument is a non-issue. I am curious how long this will last at Apple as well, they don't strike me as a company that wouldnt sell your data.

EDIT: HN is very weak when it comes to critical thinking on Apple products...

>toward more consumer and dev friendly high end products.

Such as?

- They seem like a danger to our capitalistic system

Good! Capitalism has failed a great many people.

> They seem like a danger to our capitalistic system as they have enough power to sway politics.

Business owners using their power to sway government is the foundation and backbone of capitalism, historically (sure, it may violate post hoc rationalizations of capitalism, but those have little to do with capitalism as it has existed in the real world anyway.)

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