Biden Administration Report Recommends Sweeping Changes to Apple's Ecosystem

[Danoc]

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[GLS]

It's funny. I wonder if any govt agency in any country had these same concerns back when the app store was first announced.

 

[RamGuy]

To all the naysayers moaning that their security will be compromised if sideloading is implemented…

Guess what? The  App Store isn’t going anywhere. Everyone can still use the App Store.

The push for sideloading is to benefit developers, not end user customers.

You have to be pretty naive to think sideloading, and especially third-party app stores won't affect anything. How long does it take until app X is only available through app store Y? I do agree with the notion that allowing all of this is beneficial when it comes to competition, but that does not mean it has to be all positive for customers besides the ability to save some money.

This doesn't have to be all about security either. It might reduce Apple's control over the platform as a whole. How do you ensure developers apply to new APIs and standards set by Apple if they can just ignore everything Apple says by not being on the Apple App Store? We are quickly running into the issues Microsoft has with Windows where it's next to impossible to get developers to use new APIs and development tools and capabilities as it's much easier for developers to be lazy and stick around maintaining their .NET Framework 3.x code as there is no meaningful way for Microsoft to enforce them to comply with anything newer.

Apple is great at pushing things with iOS. Developers can't ignore new APIs for very long, as Apple gives developers 2 years to comply otherwise their apps are dropped. This is a huge benefit for everyone involved, besides the developers of course. As soon as third-party app stores and sideloading are allowed, it allows for every developer to not comply with anything anymore as they could simply opt for offering their not updated app via something else other than the Apple App Store

 

[scheinderrob]

only after they break up google

oh, i fully agree. a lot of big tech needs the regulation hammer.

 

[MajorFubar]

Not America….. China.

My tongue-in-cheek response was aimed at those people (100% guaranteed to be Americans) who routinely post 'Apple need to pull out of [name a territory]' as soon as the government/law-makers of that territory threaten them with legal action, most commonly, but not exclusively, the EU. In fact it would be simpler now to list the countries and territories which have not threatened Apple with legal action.

 

[HVDynamo]

This makes no sense. If you start a company, build it into a huge company, do you lose your rights to operate your product (app store) how you see fit? The competition cries and cries.. ok, so make your own phones into a trillion dollar company then? It's like if you created a bakery and grew it into a huge chain - then Krispy Kreme complained to the government that your bakery wont let them come in and sell their donuts in your stores. Like wtf kind of logic is this?

If competitive app stores are allowed on the iphone, be prepared for WAY more spyware/malware to slip through the cracks. Do you think Samsung polices their app store as well as Apple does? Sometimes bad apps slip through even WITH Apple's much higher focus on security and privacy.

The problem with this take is that no start up will be able to build a truly competitive product without massive capital investment. As technology gets more complex, the cost to even get a shot at making a competitive product skyrockets. A bakery really doesn't get more complicated so it's easy for anyone to hop in and compete by tweaking the ingredients to make something unique or taste better. With computing technology, no start up can truly compete with the iPhone on cost and performance because they don't have deep pockets to start with. Because of that the rules of competition need to change a bit when a company gets massive like this.

As a second point, just because they allow side loading, doesn't mean you have to opt to use those options. If you want to stay in the walled garden, then stick with Apples App store. I can install software from anywhere on my Mac I just bought, but I can't do that on my iPhone. I could choose to stick with the App Store, but I'd rather have the ability to download and install whatever I like on my device I paid for. It works fine on Mac's it should be allowed on iPhone/iPad too.

 

[4look4rd]

I’ll plan to explain to my Mom this weekend about side loading apps on her iPhone and the merits of various browsers and mail apps so she can make informed decisions.

Is it so hard to comprehend that you don’t need to do this if you don’t want?

App Store is still there, apple could probably just create a security setting where only apps from the store are allowed, but create a way to enable third party app stores and side loading.

 

[HVDynamo]

We need trump back he didn’t get involved like this

No.

 

[7149041]

Can't wait for sideloading on PlayStation, because for sure they wouldn't only over-regulate mobile appstores, right? Right?

 

[randy98mtu]

Shareholders and employees will not like this.

Personally if people want sideloading they may want to buy into Android instead.

Which can be viewed as a reason it is not anti-competitive. As that is encouraging people to look at the competition if they are not happy with their iPhone. I'm happy with my iPhone and I don't want any of the undesired consequences of this. I'm sure Apple does have a plan already for this, but perhaps they can have a switch in the settings for people who want to have their phone "jailbroken" so that those of us who don't can keep things just the way they are.

 

[HVDynamo]

Thanks, big government. Please ruin my user experience by adding multiple App Stores, payments systems, and malware to iOS.Let people use Android (or actually some open source mod of Android, since Google also restricts these things) if they want a free-for-all crap fest akin to the classic Windows user experience.

It works fine on Mac. No reason it shouldn't work on iPhone/iPad.

 

[GMShadow]

I'm sure the US Government has no ulterior motives in making people's phones less secure and easier to hack.

 

[Student of Life]

This is the text book example of the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It all sounds good until you start to think about it and what it will actually implement.

 

[SBlue1]

Shareholders and employees will not like this.

Personally if people want sideloading they may want to buy into Android instead.

Why can't it be both? I want sideloading and more options yet I like the feel and design of IOS and the iPhone. I am sure there are lots of others like me. Remember how popular jailbraiking was? There was a reason for that.

 

[MVMNT]

Video game consoles as well then, yeah?

Because there's ZERO monopolisation going on there...

 

[everlast3434]

There's about a million other things this guy could be focusing on instead of this.

 

[haydn!]

At high-level seems very similar to the EU changes. Can see Apple trialling a few new approaches there over the next few years before a global re-alignment.

A lot of this does make sense. Especially the stuff around payment systems. Still not personally convinced on the benefits of side-loading/third party stores if App Store rules in general and payment processes are made more flexible.

 

[ilikewhey]

If Apple have been sensible they will have seen this coming for a long time and be ready to go with a set of contingency plans. Though no doubt they will still fight it as long as possible.

haven't you heard? apple's only silver lining from its downward trend y2y is their "record breaking" service profit. apple gonna milk that cow as long as they can before they couldn't anymore.

 

[sam_dean]

Why can't it be both? I want sideloading and more options yet I like the feel and design of IOS and the iPhone. I am sure there are lots of others like me. Remember how popular jailbraiking was? There was a reason for that.

Reason why I do not want sideloading is that it makes the iPhone less secure and owners of the iPhone cannot lock it down totally for the users they assign the smartphone to.

Jailbreaking was only useful if you wanted to add functionality but overtime these functionalties was added to iOS so end users have less use for them.

Android is a better platform for those who want this flexibility. People who buy into Android accept its security flaws.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

You had legislation: The Open App Markets Act. It had bipartisan support in the house and senate. You had a lame duck congress that could've easily voted on it but it never got put on the floor because Chuck Schumer is an old ass boomer who spends all day watching Night Court on Peacock on his work computer.

YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT! DO SOMETHING! You want legislation, put out an executive order for one just like you did with Right to Repair. It's not hard. This is why the EU is laughing at us.

 

[Student of Life]

It works fine on Mac. No reason it shouldn't work on iPhone/iPad.

Does it? Honestly look at what apps are made for Mac. The numbers a low and dry. It's basically a port of an app not one made directly for Mac's for the most part.

On the iPhone the apps are made exclusively for the iPhone following apples strict guide line. Say thats not needed anymore for arguments sake, a developer will go for the cheapest path to make it universal and not tailored to what makes iPhone apps better than other phone software. As a consumer, as a user my experience will be degraded.

 

[gregmancuso]

This is perfect (/s). More proof that governments have no clue what they are doing and should not meddle. Here we have the push for alternate stores and side loading. Yesterday we have a letter penned by a member of Congress "demanding" that TikTok be banned and removed. Those two things are mutually exclusive. Cannot ban (or protect) anything when side loading or alternate stores are mandated.

 

[PauloSera]

• Third-party app stores should be permitted and users should not be prevented from sideloading apps outside a gatekeeper's own app store. Legislative and regulatory measures should prohibit restrictions on sideloading, alternative app stores, and web apps.
• Requirements that ban developers from using alternative in-app payment systems should be banned.
• Third-party web browser apps should be able to offer full functionality and not face browser engine restrictions.
• Pre-installed apps, default options, and anticompetitive self-preferencing should be limited, including in search results.
• Users should be able to choose their own apps as defaults and delete or hide pre-installed apps.
• App store review processes should be more transparent.

This is going to come as a huge shock to some people, but....

It's possible for me to agree with the above opinions, and also not agree with trying to use the law to FORCE businesses to agree too.

 

[HVDynamo]

Exactly.

I didn't like the lockdown on the iPhone ecosystem - so I didn't buy an iPhone.
If Apple extends the lockdown too far into MacOS I'll stop using Macs.
I'm a grown up and can make my choice.

I'm almost on the point of re-considering - since starting to use a phone for e-banking and payments is becoming harder to avoid and I trust Apple slightly further than I trust Google/Samsung/Huawai etc. and I certainly don't want to install questionable third-party software on a phone I use for banking and ID.

I remember the "dark days" of the 1990s when it was a massive uphill struggle to use anything other than Wintel PCs and Internet Explorer. The current phone situation is nothing like that - there's a decent choice between iPhone, "Google experience" Android, "generic" Android and even a few Linux/Ubuntu phones, and most of the major Apps & services support at least iOS and Android.

...and, as for third-party payments, if Apple allow third-party payments in the App store then they won't get a nickel for any "freemium" apps they distribute which pretty much breaks the financial model.

Imagine you could walk into a store, pick up an Acme Widgetmaster, then phone Acme directly with your credit card number - how would the store finance itself without getting a slice of purchases? ANS: by monitoring your every move and selling your personal data to marketers. Remind you of anybody else with a large share of the smartphone market?

Of course, back in the good old days you could hack around with your PC and if you broke it you got to keep both parts, and if you installed malware you mostly just lost your own data (as being connected 24/7 to the internet was the exception rather than the rule). Today, smartphones have become security critical devices used for banking, ID verification etc. and installing malware has consequences. They probably need locking down even harder, not liberalising. If you want to hack around, choose the tool for the job - a linux PC or "maker-board", not a consumer appliance - and don't do your e-Banking on it.

By this logic I shouldn't do any banking on my Mac or a windows machine either.

 

[jimbobb24]

Imagine the govt applying this logic to itself.

I am glad I got to live before govts converted Apple into Android. I cannot wait to install virus software on my iPhone. Yeah! Go govt regulations!