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Comment by scarface74 | Hacker News Reader

And the console makers? Google Play? The movie theaters? Amazon? Spotify?

Google Play is a bad example here because you can absolutely use app stores like F-Droid or Amazon to get content onto your device.

Arguably, they have problems as well, but it's not an apples to apples (no pun intended) comparison.

One has a completely locked down ecosystem that people are worried to speak against lest they lose access to it.

The other has alternatives, albeit ones without huge traction. It does allow you to make decisions about whether Google Play gives value (discovery, etc).

So how has that worked out for developers who chose to use alternate stores?

You are confusing market access and distribution. If I wanted alot of eyes on my app and I saw a benefit from the appstore then I would pay the 30%.

All I want is being able to give to MY customers, who I paid MY money to acquire, a native app. Apple is refusing to allow this, unless I pay protection money. Textbook rent seeking

Belated.

I can think of many exampled that have worked out. In some cases, apps like Gambling apps are not allowed to use the Play store at all, and yet manage to just fine and get installed directly as APKs.

It definitely varies business to business, and I'm not saying that I wouldn't put my app on Google/Apple, but that is because I do need the discovery.

In the case of Basecamp, they bring their own customers and network. This is true of a lot of big companies and Enterprise apps (some of which have exceptions already).

Those are all very different propositions where the company brings some value - the theatre itself, the player software, the content/catalog. A good illustration of how bankrupt the Apple Walled Garden is - just a fence to extract money with zero added value.

How well did the mobile developers do before the App Store when they tried to peddle their J2ME apps on feature phones? What are the chances that game developers would entice the whales to buy loot boxes and tokens for pay to win games if not for an easy payment method?

Does Amazon provide value with the Kindle? Does Valve with Steam? Amazon market place? eBay? The console makers?

The theaters don’t bring too much value as evidenced by them holding on by tooth and nail trying to convince the studios not to go straight to digital.

Good examples of stores that don't charge for content delivery outside their premises. They are clearly different in this critical way.

Actually, all of the console makers charge game developers a per game fee no matter where you buy it from.

Roku is infamous for not allowing content distributors (except for Netflix) to be on it unless they get a cut.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/roku-plans-to-block-fox-apps-da...

Hey is free to offer subscriptions at a 43% premium through the App Store and still get its full amount.

…and you know what? If Apple's payment system makes your app better, you can use it! That's how it works on Android, and it sometimes bugs me when things use their own payment systems, but that's also the point. Google's payment system brings value. Sometimes it even brings '30% per purchase' worth of value. Why does Apple have this weird inferiority complex about theirs?

And you can also have additional payment methods outside of the App Store and charge less if you desire.

Kindle: you can load books from other sources, you can also read Kindle books on other devices

Steam: you can redeem keys purchased from other stores, install apps from other stores, and they don’t mandate using their system for in app purchases

eBay: do they have any policies like this? I haven’t heard much about them or made an eBat purchase in a decade.

Amazon Marketplace: There actually is a strong argument here that they capture so much of the market that opting out is not an option. This is very similar and already under much scrutiny.

Game Console: Also very similar to this. I expect they will lobby hard on Apples side for that reason.

Kindle: you can load books from other sources, you can also read Kindle books on other devices

Apple participates in Movies Anywhere Sling with Amazon, Google, Vudu, and a few other vendors. If you buy a movie from any of the participating studios, you get credit for purchasing for all of the stores.

You can also purchase physical movies from other places and redeem codes to get credit as if you purchased them from iTunes.

Apple doesn’t require that you must only use their subscriptions. You can subscribe outside of the store. You can every charge more subscriptions to make up for their 30%.

Of course you can opt out of Marketplace. You can set up your own website with places like Shopify.

I know I’m late here but you buying that steam key from another source means that valve gets its cut anyways. To issue that key they had to give them cut.

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