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Apple's New Fees Will Kill Free Apps (youtu.be)

submitted 11 months ago by Srootus@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[-] maynarkh@feddit.nl 86 points 11 months ago

It doesn't count as "malicious compliance" if Apple is not complying. Apple is simply not allowed to have one fee structure for people who use the App Store to release stuff and another for other people. See "no self-preferencing". "Not providing an App Store" is not a service. All these tantrums are going to earn them is a swift kick in the nuts from the EU.

[-] glowie@h4x0r.host 38 points 11 months ago

We can only hope (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

[-] Mad_Punda@feddit.de 15 points 11 months ago

I wish it was swift.

[-] abhibeckert@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Apple isn't even required to comply with these new laws yet - so wishing the EU to enforce the rules now is pretty unrealisitc.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 70 points 11 months ago

Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple. Fuck apple.

Also, fuck apple simps.

[-] GeekFTW@kbin.social 22 points 11 months ago

Also, fuck apple simps.

Former Applecare rep here: Say it again, Trick!

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Haha, I bet you had some interesting conversations with the fanboys

[-] GeekFTW@kbin.social 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Tons. Still loving Margaret from 2009ish who asked me if 'we own the Google' and wouldn't take 'no'.

[-] Louisoix@lemm.ee 0 points 11 months ago

Hey there former colleague!

[-] GeekFTW@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago

👋

[-] TORFdot0@lemmy.world 63 points 11 months ago

The rules are in place solely to lock in free apps to the official App Store. The EU is just going to have to tell Apple to deal with it. Apple is acting like it has to verify and sign every app that runs on its platform and therefore it justifies the fees. The EU just needs to force Apple to allow unsigned apps to run and then its not a problem.

[-] hamsterkill 34 points 11 months ago

Even centrally signing every app doesn't justify a fee. There's virtually no cost in doing so. Mozilla does it for all Firefox extensions just fine.

[+] brbposting@sh.itjust.works -28 points 11 months ago

Anybody else their family’s tech support and glad an iPhone is a safe option when it comes to shady apps, as long as big boys are still allowed to buy Android phones?

Wonder if it would work for Apple to sell multiple versions of the iPhone (geek & geezer).

[-] TheSealStartedIt@feddit.de 15 points 11 months ago

Without the intention to start a silly discussion about it, but it sounds like everyone in your family has an iPhone. Google Play Store is safe enough.. Never had one problem in my lifetime. Whole family with android. Greetings from Europe...

[-] sir_reginald@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

following that logic, you don't allow your family to be near a desktop computer, do you? all those third party programs not approved by your OS distributor surely are scary.

It's not like installing third party apps in Android is something someone can do by mistake. You have to specifically enable it in the options and allow it for the app that acted as a source.

Most users never do this and use the Play Store just fine, which is neither more secure or insecure than the Apple Store.

[-] hglman@lemmy.ml 3 points 11 months ago

I just force them to use debian.

[-] Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 points 11 months ago

Android works just fine with the Play Store being locked down but enabling other sources being trivial if you know where to look.

Heck, even Apple isn’t a stranger to this way of doing things. For like a decade now Mac’s Gatekeeper has given you a warning that is easily bypassed when you try to install something that isn’t either from the Mac App Store or from a third-party with an Apple code signing certificate.

[-] soulfirethewolf@lemdro.id 57 points 11 months ago

Free apps were already pretty unsustainable in iOS to begin with given the $99 yearly developer fee :/

[-] smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de 29 points 11 months ago

And since they almost force using a Mac to develop such app.

[-] diffusive@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago

And the cost to own apple hardware (that is not exactly cheap, even 2nd hand)

[-] Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz -1 points 11 months ago

Maybe it is just me, but I paid only 50€ for late 16 macbook and got late 13 for free. Ssd and memory upgrades were about 100€ (dumpster ram) and both run ventura and sonoma (OCLP) without a hitch. And both work perfectly for programming and such.

[-] eek2121@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago

Such a clickbait-y headline I am not going to watch it.

Free apps aren’t changing in anyway.

The tl;dr is that for developers using the app store, nothing changes. Developers wishing to not use the app store have to agree to a new fee structure.

Apple, as expected, intends to make up for lost profits by charging more money.

If you are outside the EU none of this matters to you.

Note that I am not disagreeing with the sentiment , but rather I am disagreeing with the clickbait headline.

[-] GigglyBobble@kbin.social 24 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Well, it basically prevents something like F-Droid for iOS arising from the EU ruling. Kinda big deal. Not that the fanboys would care though. Apple is infallible.

[-] smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 11 months ago

But the whole regulation was not about installing an app outside of the App Store icon, but outside Apple. To free the market of apps, such that the manufacturer is not the only one deciding what app you can install.

It's like BMW would say you can equip tires different than from BMW store, but those other stores still must give them a fee.

[-] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

Kudos. That is such a great analogy.

[-] countsickness@feddit.de 3 points 11 months ago

„Apples new fee might kill free apps in the EU that get downloaded more then one million times a year and want to be distributed via alternative app stores“ just doesn’t have the same ring to it I guess.

Realistically this will only really hit stuff like Netflix Games when they want to try to make their own store or something similar.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Right it's fine that apple is doing this, because... This video title doesn't end with "if people opt into this obviously shit set of terms". Makes sense.

[-] eek2121@lemmy.world -3 points 11 months ago

Nobody said this is a great policy. I was just pointing out the garbage level reporting of it by folks like the author.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

It's not garbage reporting. The title of the video is not even that misleading, because it is exactly what would happen if people opt into that. It's way less misleading than apple representing the terms here as a "choice"

[-] abhibeckert@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It is miss-leading. You don't pay any money unless more than 2% of the EU population uses your app (there's about 50 million people in the EU who own an iPhone, and you need a million of those people to run your app to pay this fee).

If you have that many users, and zero income, then all you need to do is register as a non profit - then Apple will exempt your app entirely from the fees.

Every mass market truly free app that I can think of is already run by a non profit - so most don't have to do anything at all.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

You obviously didn't watch the video

[-] eek2121@lemmy.world -5 points 11 months ago

No, it is completely misleading because:

this change will not impact a single developer outside the EU.
Any developer not using a third party app store will also not be affected.
You can still build free apps and literally nothing changes assuming you use Apple’s app store.

Like I said, it is a shit policy, but for nearly all developers nothing changes.

The video’s thumbnail said Apple is killing free apps. That is a complete lie. There is not an ounce of truth to it.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

If this is a complete lie, then their new policy "option" is 100 "complete lies". I support any effort to get out the word that apple is anti competitive as fuck, a video title being 30% inaccurate does not change that for me at all.

[-] countsickness@feddit.de -1 points 11 months ago

To further add you would have to have more then one million downloads per year and also not fall under "Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities".

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

Pay to play/win has long since killed the proper concept of a "free" app on just about every single platform.

[-] Meowoem@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

Looking at the huge amount of amazing open source programs on my system I would say that's a lie

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 9 points 11 months ago

This is by design tbh

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[-] nyakojiru@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 11 months ago

Well we will be able to download the free apps that apple don’t want in their store from other stores. Sad for non EU countries. Non brainer from apple that movement will push other regions to adopt the same laws as EU.

this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024

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