alt Hacker NewsThat's too much margin. They're trading net profits for user happiness and it's hurting their brand more than they understand. The app store cartel must fall.
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The competition is limited to android and Google is sabotaging every advantage they held against Apple. Customization is lost, freedom is lost, even the smartphones prices are now similar to iPhones. Pixels sell for premium price nowadays.
imo the app store thing is very niche and only affects a small, vocal group that tends to sit on hacker news and pay attention to these things. Can almost guarantee that 95% of the iphone-having population does not know/care about the app store "issue." I do think the general decline in quality and uptick in bugs will bite them slowly, at least once there's an iphone competitor of note.
It's a bit of Valve situation, the competition just refuses to make better product
IMHO as a user I prefer purchasing via app store because it avoids all of the dark patterns companies use to prevent subscriptions or returns.
I get that it sucks that the honest folks have to pay a 30% fees
I'd be happy to pay a 30% premium on my app store purchases just for the ability to unsubscribe without dark patterns.
> hurting their brand more than they understand
Among perhaps the 1% super tech savvy users. I never heard anyone who wants to sideload apps outside online (not even from other programmers I know in real life. Ones who care like much always have been using rooted android from day 1.)
Brand name? Apple is a faux-Veblean good targeting lower middle class people, moms, and teens (Who pretend the $50/mo payments are expensive).
Its a demonstration of wealth.
That's what you get with shareholders ...
What evidence is there that it's hurting their brand?
Outside of HN I see zero complaints. And the situation has been going on for a while. I might not like it, but it seems perfectly fine for their brand as far as I can tell.