[AOsborn]

I don't think it is egregious at all.

Instead, many people seem to have had a head-in-the-sand view that many of the services Apple provided were no-cost, or done out of goodwill.

So, now there is the option for alternative marketplaces, the costs have been shifted to those marketplaces.

Makes complete sense.

It's almost like... those marketplaces will need to find a monetising model similar to how the Apple App Stores used to operate.

[johnnyanmac]

>Instead, many people seem to have had a head-in-the-sand view that many of the services Apple provided were no-cost, or done out of goodwill.

The only service an alternative app store needs it the ability to be made and sideloaded. Apple justifies the 30% cut in teh App Store with all the stuff they do for you in packaging, distributing the app and updates, payment processing, etc.

But somehow they are making it a worse deal to not deal with those services. They are making it more expensive for any moderately popular app to opt out by suggesting that they need 50 cents anytime someone presses the install button. Which feels less like convenience and more like rent seeking.

The do not sell hardware at a loss, they charge yearly for seats to develop for IOS, and they have various other opt in services to incentivize making use of Apple and its App store. They will not be bleeding money if some companies decide to instead roll their own stack.

>It's almost like... those marketplaces will need to find a monetising model similar to how the Apple App Stores used to operate.

except they can't because they still gotta pay apple to exist, apparently. That's where it starts to reek of anti-trust.

[dariosalvi78]

in what way would an alternative store, managed by a third party, be a cost for Apple?

[FateOfNations]

All of the developer tools and SDKs have value and are used regardless of distribution channel. Those haven't been free, they've just been included in the App Store commission structure. Developers pay for those based on the value they generate (i.e. revenue). If you want out of the App Store as a distribution channel, Apple still expects to be compensated for the value it's developer tools and platform is providing to developers, and the €0.50 per install fee is how they are choosing to charge for those services.

[kaba0]

The reviewing process done by apple still applies to them.

[sunnybeetroot]

I agree, Apple’s servers aren’t free, sending push notifications isn’t free, sending down Apple Map tiles isn’t free. An alternative is you get a side loaded App Store with no costs but you don’t get access to Apple frameworks that cost them money.