[firechickenbird]

> The government hopes that the move will spur competition and lead to app price drops

Most apps are free. The paid one are also already very cheap

[ur-whale]

This is not about the price of apps.

It is about running what you want on a device you own.

You may not have realized it, but you do not own your Apple device anymore, in the sense that you can't run what you choose on it.

You are only allowed to play in Apple's carefully tended village.

I'd recommend re-watching The Prisoner [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

[charcircuit]

>in the sense that you can't run what you choose on it

Do you not own a washing machine if you can't use it to render 3D videos on the computer inside? A washing machine being a washing machine is just what the device is. If you own an iphone the expectation is that you can run iphone apps. Apple never advertised that you can run anything on it.

[Laremere]

They are free mostly because they have in app purchases, which the stores take their cut of. It's easy to see the stores provide some of the value in the transaction, but 30% is an amount which would be arbitraged away with some real competition.

[ronsor]

"Free" with in-app purchases that can easily eat one's entire paycheck.

[falcolas]

You’re right. But this is wholly tangential to the discussion; an alternative storefront will not change MTX practices.