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- Hacker News
- What phones is everyone here using as an alternative to apple and google? rooted android phones?by wookmaster
- > Apple’s position is that it should be permitted to charge fees on in-app purchases made by users of its devices as a means to recoup its investments in the tools, technology, and services that allow it to maintain its App Store and software
This framing is so bloody disingenuous it’s vomit inducing.
by mthoms - Daydream: US Gov't says "Sure, go for it! BTW, we'll now be talking an extra 15% cut of all transactions that you do using our dollars."by bell-cot
- woah! don't be so harshy... they sell hardware at loss /sby luqtas
- You mean VAT?by moi2388
- They... do. The federal corporate alternative/minimum income tax is 15%.by adastra22
- > "Apple’s position is that it should be permitted to charge fees on in-app purchases made by users of its devices as a means to recoup its investments in the tools, technology, and services that allow it to maintain its App Store and software."
That is such a ridiculous argument. Next they'll want a cut of everything you buy from Amazon using Safari, or any bank transfer you do via your banking app just because you happen to use an Apple device. Give me a break.
Mind you, this is about purchase made using "external links" inside of apps. Not even Apple's IAP infrastructure at all. Apple does zero here, the developer in this instance is offloading to their own payment stack. Apple deserves nothing more than 0% commission here.
by thewebguyd - 0.25% seems fairby superze
- Do iOS users realize how much they're paying Apple? I feel like if, every time they bought something, users got a receipt with a line item showing that 30% of the money was going to Apple and not to the company they thought they were buying from, a lot of them would jump ship to Android.by jimrandomh
- But then their bubble would be a pukey green color, and not a nice blue color, and that's scary for a lot of them.by leptons
- Apple makes it against the rules to tell users about the 30% tax.by forest32
- Looks like Google's already doing this for apps downloaded from Google Play:
> The company also compared its link-out fees to those on Google Play, which charges 20% link-out rates for standard apps, 15% for apps in special programs, and 10% for subscription renewals, noting that Epic Games had agreed to these rates.
by otterley - Auto manufacturers should take 15% of purchases made outside the vehicle, and 30% of purchases made inside the vehicle eco-system.by irq-1
- Don’t give them ideas..by fosk
- 15% is still insane. Wasn't it supposed to be a cost based fee based on the latest ruling, not a flat percentage?by satvikpendem
- Yes but Apple makes three arguments:
1) they have no costs to pass on
2) they deserve a profit
3) they dismiss the 9th Circuit's ruling as invalid
by benoau - They should continue this line of thinking even further.
Start charging people for all facets of their life. Use access to their iPhone as leverage.
by randyrand - If you use a MacBook for work, Apple should get a 30% cut of your salary!
Anything else is stealing from Apple’s generous charity of selling you a laptop for $3000.
by forest32 - One simple rule or law could fix this: Every hardware manufacturer that ships an OS must allow the installation of an alternative OS from any third party, with the same access to the hardware as the original OS and all the necessary technical documentation. If the original OS can be updated over the air, users must also be able to install alternative operating systems over the air. This would result in real competition across all our devices: iPhones, smart fridges, John Deere tractors, and so on. And it would force manufacturers to focus on building better products instead of using anticompetitive practices to squeeze more money out of their locked-in customers.by textrunmax
- > One simple rule or law could fix this [...]
What's absolute simplest and most realistic way of actually going from this proposal here, into actually driving it into being a real, actual law? Would it require demonstrations? Simply gathering signatures?
- "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." - H.L. Menckenby otterley
- I guess I just don't understand the indefensible greed on display here from Apple. If Apple's App Store & development software truly were still world-class & easy to build/rely on then at least one could defend a "quality tax" of sorts. That'd still be bad, but it's something.
As it stands currently, with the quality of their software & App Store benefits they should be discounting all fees by like ~50% at least.
by ebilgenius - I mean, you can't say "this service isn't good enough so I won't pay". The justification is surely the cost of hosting the platform and building it out, in fact if you try and demand higher quality libraries they'll probably raise the price to fund it. It is frustrating though, I wish there were a more open and free phone OSby guywithahat
- People put up with it for the last fifteen years or whatever; why would they care now?
- > I guess I just don't understand the indefensible greed on display here from Apple.
The point is that greed is so embedded in the culture today that they don't even have to defend it.
by ElProlactin - It is just that. Greed. They would do it on macOS too if they could get away with it, but they know they can’t and so don’t make the argument. What? macOS doesn’t require investment into the platform?
That alone settles the matter for me when the apologists inevitably show up.
by _aavaa_