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Comment by sreekotay | Hacker News Reader

Maybe think of it differently: what if there were third party app stores that had the same TECHNICAL requirements, but not the same business/policy requirements.

Feels like this is (should be?) as much about USER freedom and choice as it is about DEVELOPERS. While cost precipitated the current set of issues, it's really about the role Apple plays in arbitrarily mediating between customer and service.

So basically, you would strike: log-in, payment, content, etc, but keep the other stuff. Doesn't solve all problems but would be incrementally better.

Each "app store" would have it's own ability to set those policies for apps it carries - but (crucially) users would have the OPTION.

For users that don't care - stick with Apple.

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> Each "app store" would have it's own ability to set those policies for apps it carries - but (crucially) users would have the OPTION.

> For users that don't care - stick with Apple.

As an Apple user, to me this is the opposite of having "options".

As an individual, I cannot fight any remotely large company let alone FB or Google. If they hold my messaging or email hostage, I would be forced to use their secondary iOS app stores with their custom rules, etc.

As a group, all Apple users, we have a unified choice. It puts the power dynamic back into users hands. Users that don't like the choices of Apple should buy other phones, and if enough people buy other phones the Apple ecosystem will change with the market.

Users that do want to be part of the collective bargaining power of the Apple ecosystem, like me, should have that choice!

One very important question to ask is, why do users spend more money on iOS apps than on Android apps[1]? For 6 years, while I owned an Android I never made a single purchase. My last 4 years on iOS, I buy apps, I start subscriptions, I use Apple Pay, etc. I can tell you it is entirely because of my trust in Apple as a company. A large part of that trust is earned through the regulations they put on developers and their emphasis on my privacy.

I can guarantee you, as soon as Apple is no longer able to earn that trust, the entire ecosystem will be significantly less lucrative for developers and this whole exercise will have been in vain, hurting everyone (users and developers).

[1] https://www.techaheadcorp.com/blog/android-vs-ios/

Fair point on FB and Google. Troubling rumblings in that direction...

But I dont follow... install only their app from that store. Same sandbox, etc applies. Let them require same security.

As to revenue... that might have to so with customer set? If it were only Apple, a lot less people would own smartphones....

> install only their app from that store. Same sandbox, etc applies. Let them require same security.

If FB has access to execute code on my phone, without any guardrails, what stops them from requiring location or microphone services be on at all times?

As an informed user I can push back, even boycott, until my friend hosts an event and I need to see the invite.

What I really want is a collective bargaining power agency (i.e. kinda like a customers' union) that imposes rules that are in my best interest onto service providers. Frankly, this need exists because the government isn't doing a good enough job of it. I am happy to pay extra to this agency for this increased bargaining power.

It just so happens that Apple has positioned itself in my life as that collective bargaining power agency. Does it make life harder for service providers? Yes. If I was a service provider would I fight this friction? Yes. However, unlike anti-competitive monopoly behavior that hurts customers, the collective bargaining power is used in the benefit of the customer (i.e. me).

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