I redeem ever free Epic game each week and have never played any. One penny at a time, Tom Sweeny
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Epic Games to Bring Fortnite to iPad in EU After iPadOS 'Gatekeeper' Decision
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1. Apple wasn't "hiding" anything. They were paying what they were legally obligated to pay under Irish tax laws. You want to blame somebody, blame Ireland for doing an end-around on the EU, not Apple.
2. Epic wasn't using rules to their advantage. They willfully broke the rules and regulations that they willingly signed up for, and then proceeded to play victim.
Apple and Epic are using the laws to their advantage.
Wrong again.
Apple is using the laws to their advantage.
Epic is willfully breaking the laws to their advantage.
Fortnite is being killed by that Pokémon with machine guns game so who cares.
But that's exactly what this is all about -smartphones, including iPhone, have already become as integral a part of people's lives as TVs and computers.
Except smartphones are far more advanced and play a role in nearly everything we do.
Big tech has had far too much control over these products considering how greatly they impact business and culture.
The level of influence, control and profits they gain from owning these "roads" that smartphones and computers have come to represent is indeed a threat to competition in several markets, innovation in tech, and really, most parts of society.
Additionally, the notion that Apple and its big tech peers will fail to turn a profit and lose all of what they built just because their grip on the internet is lessened a little bit is hyperbole.
All they have to do is spend a little more of their profits on r&d, get back into the ring and prove to consumers that they can do every app, service, and type hardware better than anyone else, not just a few things and then shut out the competition where it suits them like they've done up until now.
Apple was able to lead us all into its "fold" with all the great things it has created. Now that we're free to leave it just have to prove to us that it is indeed the best place to stay, give us a little more value for what we spend instead of perpetually lowering value and increasing prices.
Is that really so bad?
I think it's one of the best things to ever happen to Apple and I think you're going to love it!
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I am not upset because Apple may stand to make less money from allowing sideloading and third party app stores. I estimate that the DMA will only have an immaterial impact on Apple's finances. I am cautiously optimistic that most customers will choose not to engage beyond the App Store.
I am upset because in my opinion, this new current narrative is a total lie.
For years, Apple was positioned as one iPhone update away from implosion. Low market and sales share were paraded around as signs of an incompetent product strategy. Simply put, Apple was framed as being weak and vulnerable, dependent on revenue sources that could disappear overnight due to consumers fleeing to the competition.
Every year, people parrot the same thing. Android phones offer "more" on paper. More ram, better resolution, more camera megapixels, more cores, bigger battery capacity. Instead, the opposite happened. Enough people chose Apple's integrated offerings to make it one of the most successful tech companies in the world. Meanwhile, how many android smartphone brands have bit the dust (LG, HTC, Motorola) because consumers simply didn't care about what they were offering, even as they seemed to offer "more" than iPhones (eg: 4k screens, expandable storage, removable batteries, headphone jacks, ability to sideload apps, improved customisability etc).
Apple won for the exact same reasons they are being vilified in the EU today, by taking an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and using their control over hardware and software to deliver a polished product. If customers really hated closed sandboxed ecosystems, they would have abandoned iOS in favour of android. Yet Apple has managed to carve out a profitable niche for itself, its install base continues to grow even as we speak, and the response to this is to argue that users choose iOS in spite of its locked-down ecosystem, not because of it.
Today, now that tales of how "Apple must do X or it's doomed" has all but lost momentum, the narrative has completely shifted. The press is now infatuated with Apple’s power, its ironclad grip over the App Store, and the idea that Apple users are stuck or imprisoned in a massive walled garden where things like iMessage, Apple Watches, and AirPods force people to remain within Apple’s walls. Government regulators are viewed as the only entity capable of protecting Apple users from Apple.
If there's anyone here who actually believes this narrative, they are only setting themselves for more failure. Thinking that Apple users are somehow being forced against their will to buy products like Apple Watches and AirPods is nothing more than looking for someone to blame for market failures when the real problem is the competition possessing a bad vision, inadequate corporate culture, and lack of understanding as to what makes Apple unique.
Is it so hard to admit that in this current timeline and reality, Apple won?
Yeah absolutely. But it’s incorrect and false to call it hiding. I understand some people like to embellish a story to make their story sound better. Maybe that happened here?
There’s competition among device manufacturers.
…and that’s exactly what Apple are doing: not improving their App Store service.
It’s half-assed and they haven’t meaningfully improved it in years. The App Store’s search function is atrocious - and there’s no filters to help you find something.
And withholding the benefits of economies of scale from other stakeholders: developers and consumers alike. In competitive markets, the costs or commission rate of distribution of non-physical, digital goods or purchases do not remain unchanged for 15+ years. Economies of scale and competition will make savings be passed down to large developers, too.
So has Apple. And making their struggle to maintain their monopoly on iOS app distribution about consumer protection is just insulting - given how it’s just about lining their pockets.
Be happy that Sweeney isn’t charging you a crap technology fee just for downloading and keeping their games installed (or merely forgetting to delete them) - even when you don’t play them.
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In some ways, to comply with EU I would have preferred Apple just give an initial screen prompt “do you want to install Android?”
Meets the requirements.
Offloads all responsibility.
Give the few who want an insecure OS what they want.
Instead we get a new version of iOS with major changes to accommodate the EU alt app stores. This change is code that sits on everyone’s phone regardless of region or activation. It makes one extra loophole that could be exploited by bad agent code.
All those who say “don’t run it” don’t get the change is everywhere.
And as we have all seen many many times on other OSes, user behaviour results in lots of people doing silly things. “Click this email link to get…” has caused more grief to family members who support tech for other relatives. “I didn’t know”.
Apple maybe need a default “Don’t allow Alt App Store links” turned on to thwart casual/ accidental installs happening.
Anyone who asks me to fix their phone for careless behaviour will be getting a “buy a new phone” reply.
Nailed it.
In some ways, to comply with EU I would have preferred Apple just give an initial screen prompt “do you want to install Android?”
Meets the requirements.
Offloads all responsibility.
Give the few who want an insecure OS what they want.
Instead we get a new version of iOS with major changes to accommodate the EU alt app stores. This change is code that sits on everyone’s phone regardless of region or activation. It makes one extra loophole that could be exploited by bad agent code.
All those who say “don’t run it” don’t get the change is everywhere.
And as we have all seen many many times on other OSes, user behaviour results in lots of people doing silly things. “Click this email link to get…” has caused more grief to family members who support tech for other relatives. “I didn’t know”.
Apple maybe need a default “Don’t allow Alt App Store links” turned on to thwart casual/ accidental installs happening.
Anyone who asks me to fix their phone for careless behaviour will be getting a “buy a new phone” reply.
That's why most Apple products are same-same? Let's be honest, if you see the "improvement" between the last Apple Watches, it's just ridiculous. In fact, From Apple Watch 4 or 5 (don't remember) to 8 they used the same SIP. Also, I don't see any new improvement for the new iPhones either. I only buy the newest iPhone since for me it's cheaper to sell it every year and get the new one.
@Abazigal Are you paid by Apple or how comes you write such a complete BS in Apples favor? I had to laugh so hard while reading your meaningless post...
Apple products aren't good because they're good, imho they are "good" because other (Android) are worse. I don't like the design of the Apple Watch, yet I have to use it if I want to enjoy specific vitality features. Why don't allow other manufacturers to use the same features? You can't even have a native phone call with a third-party smart watch. And in fact, most of the other smartwatches imho look so much better.
What people like you don't seem to get is that people can still use their device how they want it to be used by Apple. But why don't let others do whatever they want? If they are - how Apple always claims - only a small percentage, why don't just let them? That wouldn't be such a deal for Apple to implement features like Sideloading and stuff. Oh wait, there are. Since they are much more than "only a small percentage" who cba anymore to use their device how Apple forces them to.
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That's a very nebulous claim - what "major changes" are you talking about? 🤔
What "change" is (allegedly) everywhere?
Given
a) the high entry barriers Apple impose on alternative app stores and the right they reserve to approve or deny them
b) the low entry barriers and lack of thorough app review for apps distributed on Apple's own store
this doesn't make much sense.
This doesn't make any sense. Allowing Android to be installed instead achieves nothing for complying with the DMA (unless users abandon iOS/iPadOS in masses). Neither would anything much less popular, like Ubuntu Touch or something.
The DMA isn't really about hardware devices and what they ship with - core platform services are about operating systems and software application stores themselves. If enough users in the EU use (choose) Apple's iOS and/or App Store, they will be deemed a gatekeeper and have to play by the EU's rules. Offering the alternative choice of installing a non-gatekeeping platform doesn't change that a bit.
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Any and all Apple 'wins' only illicit this from me these days. They are all for themselves – not the consumer.
Which is fine but make sure you hate them for reasons you can explain.
Might it be said that you didn’t leave Epic. Epic left you?
You’re just all over the place with your anger. First Apple, then Epic.
The shorter list might be those those whom you don’t hate. What tech companies don’t you hate?
If anything, it's code that's designed to restrict alternative app stores and elicit FUD from the user.
It doesn't "accommodate" app stores so much as stifle and restrict them.
iPhones have been able to run apps (code) that was never reviewed or notarised by Apple. For many years. Whereas for alternative app stores, Apple requires review and notarisation of apps - and that's what they implemented with new code.
The suggestion that the enablement of alternative app stores would put additional exploitable "loopholes" (holes) on iPhones is nonsense.
I am just saying - people are opposed to Apple charging developers a fee, and their solution is to allow companies like Epic to offer their own app stores on iOS where they can then host other developers' apps and charge them a cut. All while running the risk of fragmenting users' app experience amongst multiple app stores, websites and payment methods.
Is this really, in your eyes, what's best for consumers?
My question was aimed at Naraxus, so I’m not feeling the need to answer your third party question.
Especially not in support of another flame war.
FUD would be not understanding that complex OS level code being modified to accommodate EU directed changes doesn’t risk opening loopholes.
Millions of lines of code that no one person understands in detail.
Changing a secure method that has been used for 16 code iterations and changing the core philosophy to allow external stores comes with risks.
I used to code legacy mainframe code. Less lines of code. No one knew what original coders were thinking. They had long since departed. Apple would be the same. Many who coded iOS would have moved on.
Each year we get some new features. And every year we get bug fixes because of unintended side effects. And that’s for relatively minor additions not core functionality.
To claim a significant OS change is FUD shows a clear lack of understanding and forcing the EU change for their needs rather than the needs of the users who were happy to live in a walled garden and knowingly bought products with those limits.
Enabling categories of apps like game emulators is a different kettle of fish. The code was just allowed now. No OS change required.
I hope that satisfies most of those who wanted to circumvent the system and side load. They now have little reason to do so. Maybe ROM owners will find a way to monetize old code and legitimize old games.
Millions of lines of code that no one person understands in detail.
Changing a secure method that has been used for 16 code iterations and changing the core philosophy to allow external stores comes with risks.
I used to code legacy mainframe code. Less lines of code. No one knew what original coders were thinking. They had long since departed. Apple would be the same. Many who coded iOS would have moved on.
Each year we get some new features. And every year we get bug fixes because of unintended side effects. And that’s for relatively minor additions not core functionality.
To claim a significant OS change is FUD shows a clear lack of understanding and forcing the EU change for their needs rather than the needs of the users who were happy to live in a walled garden and knowingly bought products with those limits.
Enabling categories of apps like game emulators is a different kettle of fish. The code was just allowed now. No OS change required.
I hope that satisfies most of those who wanted to circumvent the system and side load. They now have little reason to do so. Maybe ROM owners will find a way to monetize old code and legitimize old games.
Epic Games are using the laws to their advantage but they broke their contracts with Apple and Google and when the penalty was exacted, they pretended that they didn't do anything wrong.
The Funko Pop people have commissioned a game called Funko Fusion, which will probably put the hurt on Fortnite, starting in September. Palworld is breaking records already.