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Comment by trimbo | Hacker News Reader

To use the same argument as "don't use iOS"...simply don't use the alternate app store.

I can't yet convince myself that "don't use iOS" is a valid argument while "don't use a different app store" is not.

> Every app with any popularity will then be considering their own app store. The WeChat Store. The Facebook Store. The Snap Store.

Why would you assume this would happen on iOS when it hasn't happened on Android, when the suggestion is to do what Android already allows, and yet we don't see this on Android?

Android doesn’t allow first class alternative stores, and is also not the market leader.

It’s obviously not an example for this, otherwise Epic would have just made an Android store and moved on.

> Android doesn’t allow first class alternative stores

The only thing that Android doesn't allow is for the third-party stores to auto-update apps installed through those stores.

I'm not going to say that's not a big deal, because it's definitely annoying, but I have F-Droid on my phone and get plenty of value out of it, despite having to go through a confirmation dialog to update the apps I've installed through it.

> ... and is also not the market leader

Which is entirely irrelevant. (And if you consider the world market, not just the US, Android definitely is the market leader.)

> Which is entirely irrelevant.

If it was irrelevant, Epic would have just created an Android store and let Apple go their own way.

Good news for you, seems like Android 12 is adding this

https://www.xda-developers.com/android-12-alternative-app-st...

> Android doesn’t allow first class alternative stores

Don't change the goal posts. Apple doesn't provide anything. Having to pass through a dialogue after download t confirm install isn't ideal, but possible is better than not.

> and is also not the market leader.

Android is at 45% and apple is at 55%.[1] Is your contention that a least of that amount is sufficient such that it actually changes this in some way? If so, how do you square that with Android's worldwide market share being reported as 72% in 2020?[2]

1: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/north-amer...

2: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/...

> Android is at 45% and apple is at 55%.

These are the wrong numbers to look at. App profits are what count here - that’s what Epic wants to tap into.

> Don't change the goal posts. Apple doesn't provide anything. Having to pass through a dialogue after download t confirm install isn't ideal, but possible is better than not.

It’s not just a dialog box. Alternate stores can’t provide automatic updates, which is a critical feature.

You are the one changing the goalposts here. Android alternative stores are not representative of what would happen because they are not the same, either technically, or in terms of market value.

That sounds awesome IMO. If Apple opened the iPhone up I would buy one.

Exactly. So would I.

> Then we'll have to trust that all of these companies have the same level of competence to prevent malware that Apple does (narrator: "they won't").

This is a losing argument. We've already seen that the Apple store doesn't/can't prevent clones and fakes with information collecting inserts from overwhelming the originals.

Another store might actually do this better.

They already can do it better on Android!

This is a ridiculous caricature of reality.

If anything, empirically we've seen that Apple runs a much tighter ship wrt scams and malware than Android and 3rd party friendly platforms. Especially from the perspective of non-tech mass consumer, who are incredibly well served by Apple's model.

Legislating / ruling Apple's closed model to be illegal is the true harm to consumer choice and freedom.

When you only have two choices of operating system for phones, there is not choice. It's a duopoly; there's nothing competitive or pro-consumer in having to lump the entirety of your mobile OS feature sets in two camps and damn anything else that doesn't remotely resemble that.

Sorry but Toyota doesn't have its business model harmed by being able to go to my mechanic to tune a car. If Apple wants to put three layers of dialogues to open up customization, so be it.

I have no sympathy for a trillion-dollar company and their "choice".

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