How's this different than googling for a Lenovo laptop and seeing ads for Lenovo's website versus Amazon?
Except they aren't forced to sell through Apple, Netflix doesn't allow in app-purchases for this very reason.
Apple did this all on their own, without telling app publishers. They're deliberately trying to get their 30% tax and shut out app creators.
This is nefarious. Apple is cutting the legs out from the very apps that bring value to its users.
This could be the basis of an antitrust case against Apple.
It's a cold blooded move by Apple, but I don't think its "nefarious". I'm very much against their rent seeking with the app store though.
It's like if Amazon put out ads for Lenovo but bundling a protection plan and taking a referer cut.
Developers of apps should be allowed to opt out of this, or really should be an opt in feature.
They get their 30% subscription fee. And they get to control the customer relationship. App publishers have a really shitty deal here.
Mobile computing would be so much better for competition if this had become a Microsoft / Google duopoly rather than have Steve Jobs with his perverse app store model. We'd have web downloadable apps and a better mobile web.
We now have a cartel for 50+% of American consumers. The cartel is so greedy that it's now placing ads to confuse and ensnare consumers even more.