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Comment by enos_feedler | Hacker News Reader

The primary reason they are doing it is because Apple did it. Same goes for every other rev share change that Apple has implemented.

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That still poses the question: why did Apple do it? I believe the reasons are the ones explained by the parent comment.

Also, I don't think Google mindlessly copies anything Apple does. Sure, part of it is pure competition. But I'm sure they also evaluated the reasons behind Apple's decision.

Note that this is 4 months later. That's about as quick as things like this can be done in a big organisation like Google where the decision has to go via policy, legal, engineering, translation, etc.

I believe that Google's goal is to show regulators that Apple has market power. The easiest way to demonstrate that is to follow what they do and make it look like they are in control. The reason I believe this is that it is uncharacteristic of Google to blatantly copy something like this over the years, yet it is clear they are fast following all of Apple's decisions around the app store. I would expect Google to try and differentiate and come out with a new, competitive way to make the developer ecosystem happy.

> I believe that Google's goal is to show regulators that Apple has market power.

Unlikely, since Google and Apple monopolize in the same way. Google and Apple are close allies in this fight, and if the Epic lawsuit or an antitrust investigation goes bad for one, it'll go bad for the other.

> The reason I believe this is that it is uncharacteristic of Google to blatantly copy something like this over the years,

This is comical. Google me-toos everything. Google Home's entire product line being a blatant Amazon Echo rip off. Google Cloud needing to launch a copy of every AWS service, etc.

Actually they don't. Apple makes a consumer product and exercises control between developers and users. On the other hand, Google has power over the rest of the smartphone ecosystem via Android (practically speaking) and the installation of Google Play store. It's important that Apple move first as the "leader" and Google, representing the rest of the ecosystem "follow"

Which is odd... Users of the Play store and App store are a disjoint set. Very few users will switch from Android to iOS or back because in-app purchases are cheaper. Developers are generally forced to support both stores.

There wouldn't seem to be any strong reason for both stores to pick identical fee structures - they aren't really in competition.

Startups sometimes (initially) develop applications for only one platform. Reducing the cost for (new) developers makes platforms more appealing to target (presumably).

Speaking of swapping, I switched from android to iphone last spring since my old android phone croaked on teams and I couldn't get a new xperia fast enough.

The switch was actually relatively painless when it comes to the apps themselves, the biggest problem I have is the phone itself. Iphone has inconsistent UI/shortcuts and lots of hidden gesture based inputs that you just got to know to be able to use. I'm really tempted to switch back but the google tracking keeps me away for now.

So there are some who are in the market for both :)

The developer cut/price of apps is really low on my list of reasons to switch from one to another though so you got a good point there. I'm actually trust an app that costs 100 NOK (€10) more than a 10 NOK one since they will have less incentives to do shady things.

Users might not change phones but android users might have different behaviour to ios users in terms of how likely they are to spend. Which perhaps skews the developers towards starting on one platform or the other.

But generally yes I agree that it can't be all that big a difference.

Low end Android phones/tablets are so cheap that some serve as dedicated displays/devices. I have one that I use as a OBD2 scanner, another sits as a DRO display on a desktop mill. My actual phone is iOS.

If those facts mean I’m counted as an iOS user once and Android user twice, the iOS me spends a lot more in the Apple App Store than the two Android mes put together.

Very true, I have an old android tablet that's gotten too slow for normal use, but functions fine as a clock. Another shows my task list for household chores.

The discourse is that Play store and App store are monopolies (arguably duopolies) facing the developers, not the users.

I expect that developers for the Play store and App store are two sets with a big overlap

This is the story that Google wants you to believe by fast following Apple with pricing changes. They want to demonstrate that Apple has pricing power to regulators (just my theory). The reality is that Apple and Google are in competition, and if Google actually innovated on business model the way they do with every other aspect of their business, it would actually drive the app store fees down for Apple. Microsoft has tried to do this [1] but they don't have enough market power to move the needle.

[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-store-now-gives-app...

I agree it is very odd. For other reasons too, including how Google tries to differentiate their smartphone ecosystem from Apple to try and compete. Innovating on a business model for developers would be a good differentiator.

This is why my theory for this blatant copying is for regulatory reasons. The app stores are under scrutiny right now and it is best for Android, which has very large market penetration with the Play Store, to make it look like Apple is in control of the market. Just my theory.

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