Imagine the state if CTF is invalidated by the EU. I think there will be an exodus of apps from AppStore. Apple will learn the importance of developers the hard way now.
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AltStore PAL Alternative App Marketplace Launches on iPhone in EU
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I already indicated it would be perfectly acceptable for Apple to continue to maintain a ban on malicious or IP-stealing apps. Such a ban need not extend to adult-oriented apps nor apps such as emulators that were banned up until days ago nor game streaming apps that were also banned until recently. If Apple wanted to remain the sole source of apps as part of an integrated ecosystem, among other things, they should have loosened up restrictions on what could be on the app store. Apple wanted their cake and to eat it too. Being able to get apps outside of the app store does not suddenly negate Apple's superior hardware and software, nor their products' interoperability and compatibility.
Perhaps it's simply a difference of opinion, but Apple's overzealous restrictions on what apps can be on iOS and their commissions on purchases does not seem to me to be one of the major drivers of Apple's success.
Hard to determine what's actually reasonable if there's no iOS app distribution competition to facilitate that discovery.
Do developers earn more because the iOS app market is "more vibrant" (however you'd like to interpret that I guess) or simply because iPhone users on average earn more money?
"iPhone users have a 43.7% higher average salary than Android users."
iPhone vs Android User Stats (2024 Data)
How are iPhone and Android users different? This report compares iPhone and Android’s market share, user demographics, user loyalty, app downloads, and revenue.
That difference in user income is quite substantial.
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I suggested this to be a .99 euro fee a year to subscribe too. I guess I was being too generous. LOL 😂
Having another app store doesn't prevent you doing that.
I prefer the option of increased variety and increased functionality. I mean, how does me having the choice of two stores affect you using the one of your choice?
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Yeah, i’m going to wait for another emulator getting released on the app store. Not dealing with this alt Store bs
My guess is that Apple will simply find another way to try and make up for the shortfall, such as increasing the annual developer fee.
What do you think of the 30% cut charged by game consoles such as Nintendo, Sony, Xbox, as well as Steam?
And there are, as so many people loved to remind me back in the day, 4 times as many android users as iPhone users around the world. The play store would make it up in volume, and developers would abandon the iOS App Store in droves, they said.
Funny how things worked out in the end. But to your question, I would say both come together to create a virtuous cycle. Apple has aggregated the best customers in the world, which is why you see apps like notability, fantastical, lumafusion and Apollo released as iOS-only apps, because Apple makes it lucrative for a developer to focus on only 1 of the two major smartphone OSes in the world. Even games like Grimvalor, Battleheart Legacy and Slay the Spire would come to iOS first.
One of the apps headed for the AltStore is a clipboard manager app which uses location settings to keep itself active in the background 24/7. While it does sound like something necessary for the app to work as intended, it also does not sound great for battery life (it's akin to leaving maps running in the background all day). This sounds like something that Meta would love to do with their Facebook app so it can continue to track users 24/7 and for all we know, the extra data might even be able to offset the cost of the CTF?
Oh interesting, I didn't know that. But I still doubt that Meta will do it. FB doesn't need to run in the background if people have WhatsApp open in the foreground all the time anyway. Also, the OS would still warn about it, right? Or indicate that something is running. I have a geofencing app on my phone and need to confirm its permissions regularly.
Oh, I am not talking about Apple's profit here. I am talking about the availability of apps on the app store. If the default is for an app is to be available on their website because they do not have to pay 30% tax, why would they list in the app store? See the mac app store?
Maybe I’m missing something, but how do I install this on my iPad in the EU (Netherlands)? I cannot use altstore PAL because smehow these marketplaces are for iPhone only, and I cannot find it in App Store because I’m not in the US…
You can't. Delta should be available as a free download in the App Store (you get only the iPhone version on your iPad still though), but any other apps intended to be available solely in Altstore won't be available unless the developer also makes it downloadable via the App Store.