EU antitrust chief to Tim Cook: Apple must allow third-party app stores::The European Union’s Margrethe Vestager has met with leaders of US Big Tech firms to discuss their operations in the EU, and with Apple’s Tim Cook concentrated on the App Store and Apple Music.
No, thank you. I will continue to use Apple’s App Store. What made me switch to the iPhone was the fact that I could trust the apps in the App Store. I knew there was no chance of downloading malware. It’s a liberating experience.
I don’t want it to be like Android.
just don’t participate. nobody is asking you to use other app stores. this is only a good thing.
Nobody is asking you yet. Once it becomes an option I guarantee some apps will decide that they’d prefer to use a third party store over the App Store and if that happens to be an app you use then you are essentially being asked to use other app stores.
This isn’t advocating for or against it, I’m just saying that if you think that this is purely additive and those who don’t want it can just not interact with it and get the same experience they have today then you’re being naive.
Regardless, it’s going to be interesting to watch. Smaller niche apps that don’t need discoverability will probably benefit, since if you need a niche app for something you’re probably prepared to put the effort into using a third party store. Large apps I suspect will go a hybrid model if they do anything at all (use both the App Store and a third party store, with the third party store having a lower price, although I guarantee it won’t be 30% less), and stuff in between will likely stay on the App Store unless there’s enough of a network effect to get enough users to a third party store to make it worth switching.
App developers are unlikely to take themselves off the Apple store it would remove themselves from a huge portion of the market they developed an iOS app for.
But they will find third party stores taking a smaller cut than Apple does. They will pass on some of that saving to the customer or find a way to encourage you not to use the Apple store if they get to keep a higher cut. Like earlier updates and feature releases.
That’s the point. Apple currently has a controlling monopoly on a market. Competition will lower prices for the consumer.
Anti-trust laws exist to do exactly this.
All it will take is a trustworthy company to launch a 3rd party app store. Then maybe you won’t mind.
Some companies like Cisco might just launch a store instead of putting their apps through Apple as they would like higher security than the App store provides.
Apple will also be forced into a competition to be the most secure app store too.
The likelihood is they’ll just play with the margins and do what’s necessary to keep a near monopoly but the possibility of competition is useful in itself. At the moment there isn’t even that.
This really is the key to this being successful I think. Right now a lot of the nervousness around opening iOS is because of the fact that people (rightly or wrongly) trust and have a relationship with Apple.
The people who are concerned about third party app stores really are worried about the implication of having to trust a new third party with their device, their payment details, their personal info, etc.
Put someone reputable behind an alternative and it becomes an easier sell.
Well, do you see it happening on Android for any major app except Fortnite?
That’s fair, and I admit it’s one possible outcome of all this. I just think that if the EU mandates that both Apple and Google have to support them that it’s going to shift the needle on it as the alternative infrastructure will be properly supported on every major platform. As you get that infrastructure, get payment providers in place to drive it all, the friction of switching will drop, which makes it a more appealing option for developers.
Using the same logic: just don’t participate by not purchasing an apple product. There are alternatives out there, buy an android. I enjoy my walled garden, it’s a feature that I pay a premium for.
Enter everyone to tell me why I’m wrong and/or stupid (see replies below).
Walled garden is not a feature. It’s called a limitation. Apple fanboys once again simping for a company that does not give a fuck about them
Name calling, good to see we’re keeping it classy
I got given an iPhone, owning a branded product isn’t as much of a choice as you’d think. And it really doesn’t change anything for you since you’d have to actively go out of your way normally to use a 3rd party app store. The walled garden is still there unless you go exploring.
The barrier to entry for an android is incredibly low. You could trade in your iPhone to get an android. There is choice in the market place, exercise your own freedom and switch to android
I really get it man, I was originally not gonna take the offer (it was a take it or leave it, not a situation I could sell it) since I love all the open systems android uses. Unfortunately, I’ve been buying androids for the vast majority of my life and they just haven’t been that usable for me. It’s not like I’m giving money to apple anyway since I’m not buying anything from them and I would really benefit from 3rd party apps since I used to use them on a daily basis on my android.
I won’t call you names but this literally doesn’t make any sense to me. In no way would the apple app store be affected, your walled garden is safe. To (attempt to) extend the metaphor, this is like giving you the option to take walks in other gardens, but your walled garden is still where you left it, gate locked.
I’ve been on android for 10+ years and never downloaded malware.
Don’t try to download cracked apps and you’ll be fine.
There have been some genuine apps that then download malware in the background, often after months.
But the same thing exists on the apple store.
Uh huh. Try thinking about other people. Just because you don’t want freedom doesn’t mean other people don’t deserve it. You can always just choose to stick to Apple’s crap if you really want to. But right now, people can’t choose what they want because gaining control over their own damn device is so difficult by design. That’s the point.
https://lifehacker.com/great-now-the-apple-app-store-has-malware-too-1849386738#:~:text=Most recently%2C security research Alex,single group based in China.
https://www.wired.com/story/apple-app-store-malware-click-fraud/
https://nypost.com/2024/01/02/tech/smartphone-users-warned-to-delete-these-17-dangerous-apps/
Now you will say, but I god-like smurt (smart), I wunt (won’t) download this, ofviously (obviously).
So do. Just because you only want one shop doesn’t mean other should have to shop there.
Try thinking of other people and how you might differ from them.
Lol, there IS some malware in the App Store and there is not more malware in the playstore.
Only difference, on android it is easy to sideload, for example, emulators. And that there exists an alternative opensource app store (Fdroid)
I’d be more worried about every company trying to force their users into using their own store to access their apps.
All these corporations just getting greedy. There will be a pirated app store and I will be the first to endorse it!!