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Comment by lacker | Hacker News Reader

These conditions are onerous enough that the Kindle app probably still cannot handle in-app purchases. It's really pretty annoying that I have to leave the Kindle iOS app and go to the Kindle web app to make a purchase. Obviously it wouldn't cost either Apple or Amazon anything to allow this, it wouldn't be insecure or unsafe in any way, and it would be nice for consumers. So the fact that Apple and Amazon haven't made a deal to allow this indicates to me that Apple is putting its competitive interests ahead of its users interests.

Hopefully they all figure something out eventually to allow Kindle purchases from the app.

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> Apple is putting its competitive interests ahead of its users interests

I kind of figured this already when there's no way to filter apps by "doesn't have in-app purchases".

Hah! Actually, they have kind of done this with Apple Arcade, and charge you a $10 subscription for the service

Arcade is for games only. Also, any discontinued games on Arcade immediately stop working on any device where you have downloaded them. Apps from the regular App Store stay functional, even when discontinued. If you thought you couldn't have less ownership than with the stuff from the App Store, Arcade shows you how. You're merely a tenant, and even if you keep paying the rent, stuff just disappears.

Yeah I was just trying to make a cynical point that when they allow you to filter by no-in-app-purchases, they charge you for the privilege

The fact that arcade still exists tells me that people actually pay for it, which is very unfortunate to see so many gullible people out there who are willing to be taken advantage of so much.

I'm a happy Apple Arcade user and it's been great for games that I used to love. Temple Run is an example. I bought it, loved it, but each update had more and more advertisements showing up in the game. A game I paid for. Now I have it in Arcade, and it's advertisement free.

I feel more taken advantage of by the original maker than I do Apple.

Hey me too. I love Apple Arcade and when my kids want a game, my first question is, “did you look on arcade?”

However, my belief is the entire App Store should be subject to the same rules as Apple Arcade. It would be a far healthier app ecosystem, far less predatory

“You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy”.

I found myself actually able to use browser to purchase Kindle books on iPhone now, is it because of this lawsuit?

Do you mean an in-app browser in the Kindle app, or just amazon.com in Safari?

I don't see how Apple would prohibit me from visiting a website, and they've allowed use of content/subscriptions purchased elsewhere in iOS apps for a while now.

What has not been allowed (at least until today) is to directly link to that external website.

Apple can't control browser content, only capabilities, so you could always make purchases via Safari, Chrome, etc.

No, in a regular browser you can make purchases on Amazon like normal.

If you attempt to purchase a kindle book from within the kindle app, you will not be able to. Nor will there be any messaging explaining how to make a purchase (because apple does not allow such messaging). You’ll just be mysteriously confused about why you can’t buy a book.

Why can I buy an Audible audiobook directly in the app on iOS (and for cheaper than listed on Amazon), but not a Kindle book?

You can't.

You can use your credits from your subscription, but you cannot pay for a new audiobook in the app.

They changed this recently, and do allow direct in-app purchases now. In some random podcast interview with an exec at Amazon, I remember them saying that each team gets to make their own independent decision on this, and Audible as a unit decided to allow in-app purchases and pay Apple their cut.

Yes you can. I just did. And it was cheaper than the listed price on web.

It’s a relatively recent feature (past year), but it’s possible.

Because the Audible unit at Amazon set their own policy on this, and decided it was better for them and their users to pay Apple's 30% cut.

No idea why the price through the app was better than the price on the website. Maybe some kind of promotion? Weird.

Someone in Amazon probably decided that Audible's unit economics could afford to take a 30% cut, while Kindle's could not.

I'm not surprised, since you can often buy a Kindle + Audible book for cheaper than buying the Audible book alone.

If you look at the Audible book (such as Wool https://www.audible.com/pd/Wool-Audiobook/B0BKR3Y6SP) the price is often higher than if you look at the Kindle book price, and adding the Audible narration (https://www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howey-ebook/dp/B088SY4GSD).

In the Wool example, the Audible book is $31.64, but the Kindle book with the audible add-on is $9.48 ($1.99 + $7.49). Even if the Kindle book was selling for "list price", it would still be cheaper at $27.48.

So, I'm guessing there's just a lot less margin headroom to eat a 30% cut on Kindle prices, but plenty to eat that on Audible's prices.

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