Sudden outbreak of common sense. I hope this passes and forces Google/Apple to justify the value that their app stores provide, for the amount that they take from developers.
From the users point of view side loading allows only a reduction in security. All those tracking restrictions? App Store submission policy. All those raw data access protections? App Store rejecting sandbox features that are unsafe.
There is a reason malware is a huge problem on android but not on iOS.
Except Unity doesn't make the only device that Unity games can run on.
Apple should be making their money from the phones, not seeing the phones as a utility to get even more licensing fees ($99/yr, 30% cut of all payments) from developers.
But also doesn't the $99/yr charged to put apps on the store count as a license, making your Unity example sound even more monopolistic for Apple.
You're right that unity wasn't a great example though. A better example would be the xbox, playstation, switch, etc.
The alternative model is you sell out your users, like google does.
Not really. Gaming consoles are usually sold at loss.
"The reason game consoles end up being profitable is through a combination of software, service, and accessory sales, but it's still surprising to find Microsoft has never achieved hardware profitability"
https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-says-xbox-consoles-have...
The average cost of manufacture is a PS5 is $450, the cheap version of a PS5 is $399, so a $60 loss. The platform takes a 30% commission on games the are priced >=$69.99, so at three games per machine they're making a profit.
The average cost of a game on iOS is 48c. Apple takes 14.4c, all that money then does things like supporting devices long after they were sold. Unlike google apple doesn't monetize its users: google continues to make money after devices are sold because the platform itself exists to help their ad business, that means android would still make money for google if they didn't even have their own store.
Add to that apple providing actual major software updates for devices more than 5 years after they were sold - not just security fixes - and I would argue that apple has a greater justification for their commission than Sony or MS do.
Or if you disagree, fine. What’s the threshold? How does the Government acquire the information to determine if enforcement is necessary? What happens if the PS5 console, later in its life, is ever sold for a profit?
:D
So it is said, but is this actually true? Anecdotally, my non-technical parents have been android users for 10 years and malware is a non-issue. I'd be interested in data that could demonstrate otherwise.
Um, the fact I've told any semi-non-competent person to buy iPhone because it very specifically won't screw up like the popup ridden land of Android.
How does this relate to your original comment claiming you're losing something you paid for?
You know that developers will end up using alternate App Stores.
Which means I will be forced to use them if I want to continue to use the app.
This keeps being stated as though it’s a foregone conclusion. All evidence points to the contrary. Look at Google Play. Android has allowed third-party stores since inception and yet the only stores that see any notable use are the ones that ship on devices, i.e. Google Play and to a much smaller extent OEM stores (at least in the English market).
So no, it is not likely that you will have to install another store. Just like most Android users only ever touch the Play Store most iOS users will only ever touch the App Store.
The only notable stores I expect to see from this are an Epic Games store that basically just has Fortnite on it, and some community-driven F-Droid-like.
If you are arguing that some people will be tricked into installing malware from other sources then you are right that this change would allow that but it will still require user to go through few steps which should raise red flags for them. Some people just can't resist pushing that button without thinking and regardless of the consequences and in that case app store safety net is just temporary anyway, they are still exposed to the real world where that will harm them in a more serious way.
I seriously could care less what we as HN want out of a phone in a way. We are head strong enough to do something different for ourselves -- literally look at PinePhone, etc.
What I'm concerned about is the trickery that is sinister beyond belief, getting access that they never earned and do not deserve.
Here's an example: https://youtu.be/VrKW58MS12g?t=406
This 'hack' is quite insane... Brillant and horrid... and I foresee it happening left and right.
Seriously though, I have a hand typed letter from the mid 80's running a similar scam.
If anything, technology has made this sort of thing riskier for the scammers.
Consider how you'd reproduce the vigilante's setup using 1980's technology. It probably wouldn't be feasible.
You also can't retroactively undo a security hole: once you've installed malicious software the other software on the system by definition can't be trusted.
Malware has made it into Google Play store which is Google's fault.
Same has happened to Apple (https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/07/emails-reveal-128-million-ios...; https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-ios-...) so you cannot be guaranteed to be safe just because you are behind a walled garden, you still need to think for yourself.
Allowing app side-loading or different app store is not a security hole.
Using non-approved apps or non-trusted app stores might allow for existing security hole to be exploited more easily but it might also allow for better protection against such security hole by providing better curated app stores for less tech-savvy users.
That's the thesis for a treatise I could write. This breaks the contract I had with them upon purchase.
Any software license you may have purchased is a non-exclusive one. Apple can re-license their own software however they wish.
Genuine question, do you think that comes free? It costs money to develop these things and having control over the app store allows them to recoup that. I see no problem except maybe it's too expensive for developers. A more reasonable cut should be offered IMO.
The Chinese companies are getting a substantial subsidy; the Google Play store is blocked in China.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/just-as-critics-feared-fort...