It doesn’t follow at all that a worse time for developers means worse apps or less-happy consumers. Any time Apple enforces any kind of standard it’s “worse for developers”. I’m sure lots of developers are annoyed with Apple’s approach to fine-grained and highly visible app permissions, and wish they could just have full access to the user’s device. Screwing those people over is obviously good.

That's absolutely not true. Developers can and often do have a hostile relationship with consumers who use their software. The most obvious example of this is malware developers. Operating systems and software distribution platforms often have rules to prevent malware. That's clearly a restriction on developers but (if done well) it means better apps for consumers. I think the same can be said for less obvious cases, like adware, tracking, shady free trial or subscription plans, bait and switch pricing in e-commerce, and many other antipatterns or dark patterns.

Im pretty unhappy with epic store exlusives since they have no linux client.

"Developers" nowadays (except some indie shop) are just the enemy of user. They try to squeeze money out of users as much as possible.

On the other hand Apple try to squeeze money by asking consumer to pay the apple tax, but at least they try to be reasonable on the privacy issue.

Choose which side you like, or just use open source software.

> That's an easy opinion to have when it's not your livelihood.

Isn't this sensationalist?

Developers, just like Apple or any other software maker, can be incentivized to work _against_ the consumer. PC on '00s had many developers whose livelihood compelled them to bundle their apps as "free trials" in PCs. As a user, I had to deal with pop-up after pop-up asking me to buy the full thing; each of those apps took up disk space, power and, most importantly, my brain cells. ugh.

Developer livelihoods are not as important as a frustration-free user experience.

>Does consumer centric focus necessitate draconian developer policies?

>Who do you think makes all of those wonderful apps "consumers want" anyway?

Agreed. Apps from 3rd party devs makes the user experience wonderful. But not _solely_ because of the developer.

I appreciate that Apple's high bar makes it harder for all iOS developers to make a living. However, with all respect, there might just be too many iOS developers.

Apple setting an increasingly high quality bar that weeds out the bottom 90% of all iOS developers might seem draconian for anyone weeded out but this is competition at its finest. It is how markets in general ensure the best quality product.

Obviously, there is also the matter of "How much should Apple get paid to enforce these policies? Is 30% too high for in-app-purchases?" those are good numbers to negotiate. But frankly all non-FOSS software products I've encountered before and after iOS continually proved they need developer policies to ensure they are built to be long-term customer centric.

Many people's livelihood is malware development, probably including many people who think it's unethical and would prefer to have another livelihood if there was an option. I genuinely feel bad for those people, but I still think blocking malware is the right decision for an OS or software distribution platform.

If your livelihood relies on, say, gambling for 10 year olds, or rooting around in my personal information without my knowledge or meaningful consent, then I will be delighted for you to starve in a gutter.