All this will do is give the EU cause to lock down the loopholes and allowances they put into the regulation the first time around.
It would appear they have not learned from the past (USB C for example)
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Well it'll still take then time to lock down the loopholes so Apple will get to milk the cow a bit longer.
What I don't understand (well I do but I'd rather thing they're stupid than that greedy) is how they fail to see the long term implications of their behaviour.
For example Apple could have easily avoided the entire USB C regulation by offering a USB C variant of their phone and then charging 80€ extra for it. There would not have been enough push to make an entire regulation around the connectors if there was not one giant manufacturer wanting to be special.
The same is the case here. Apple could very easily just skim a bit off the top. Charge third party stores a fee for 2nd class treatment as an appstore instead of 3rd class (for example: have the user confirm every update manually unless the store pays up). That would be enough to shut critics up because "well it's just QoL you're missing out". Instead they are pushing things way too far once again and will ultimately make less money than they could have because of it.
or "We wouldn't want an equivalent of F-Droid around here"
"that would give the user base options which aren't our locked down bullshit"
Apple says that marketplace developers will need to pay the €0.50 Core Technology Fee for each first annual installation of their marketplace app
lol you really can't make that up
They saw how unpopular that was with unity and decided it's a great wrench to throw at the EU while still complying with the letter of the law.
while still complying with the letter of the law
Is that enough though?
I'm not sure about the EU level but in several states not only the letter of the law but also the intent of the law matters.
Edit: To clarify, I wonder whether it is enough for companies to follow the letter of the law while flagrantly ignoring the intent of the law.
I'm sure they can tighten it if it doesn't seem to work out.
I'm not sure they would even need to tighten it.
See edit.
I can say with high confidence they did think of the possibility but decided against closing the loophole because they didn't want to be too overbearing with the regulation. You can see that process in action with the GDPR and cookie banners. Initially the regulation allowed for some freedom on the end of the website but after observation the EU determined that companies are happy to keep pushing the boundaries and have decided to tighten the wording of the cookie banner regulation.
Apple is likely shooting themselves in the foot right now because this behaviour will just result in the EU taking away what loopholes they left the companies to use in moderation.
Amending the law to fix these issues would take another decade though, so maybe they're just trying to prolong the process.
It's almost as if they want additional restrictions with brutal enforcement. If they had made the external app stores just unattractive enough to maybe lose Fortnite but keep most of the other developers, it would be much more beneficial for them.
Instead, they are taking the most aggressive, obviously illegal stance they can.
You have to go out of your way to install non play store apps on Android and for the average user there aren't a ton of use cases so most users don't side load apps anyways. I don't understand what they're so afraid of. They don't even have to worry about other marketplaces being installed by default since they have a hardware monopoly
I find the term "sideloading" funny. It seems artificially created to be a derogative phrasing for something which was and is completely normal and advantageous.
There was a time, when internet and computers weren't that old, where you would just visit a website to download and install a program.
It's still common on the desktop market. At least for Windows and Linux systems.
Google used the brilliant idea to chain users up to their own eco-system, by - very successfully - creating the illusion that using the Play Store and a tremendous amount of Google services and apps are the only way to go on Android devices. Apple does the same. Users aren't used to "the old ways" anymore like on PC for example. And while it might seem like a win-win situation for the company as well as for users (it is easy for most and auto-updates are nice), situations like these highlight how dangerous it can be to allow a company to have complete control over a market.
In other words:
Teach people how to download and install stuff from the web again!
Its not hard at all really, just one setting and you can install any app from the browser. Even better, when you try to install an apk file and it isnt enabled, you will even be taken straight to the related setting, so you dont even need to search it.
It's not hard, but it will still stop pretty much any non power user.
You have to go out of your way to install non play store apps on Android
That's...just not true. It's like dumb easy if you know that an android app is an APK file. Or even just a quick web search about the subject. The situation has always been that it's harder to sideload on apple vs android.
Dumb easy for you and likely most of Lemmy. I think you over estimate the capabilities of the general public.
That's completely fair.
It's easy but it's extra steps, thus out of your way. I don't know any non power users that don't use the play store exclusive. I think Apple is putting up a big fuss about nothing, they've probably wasted more money fighting this than they'd lose. The built in app store has such a ridiculously huge home field advantage.
Typical apple.