Apple geofences third-party browser engine work for EU devices

Why would it cause the cost of games to go down?

They still cost the same to make regardless, and they’d still need some form of distribution that would take a cut.

PC games aren’t any cheaper at launch than console games. Console games don’t become any cheaper when the cost of manufacturing goes down over the course of a generation.

> Security doesn’t equal to giving away the full control to a third party.

Allowing the user to install and run any software does result in a less secure system.

Also if that software is run in a sandboxed way (but allowing installation from anywhere).

Because software could impersonate and trick the user into giving away sensitive information, such as credit card data, or authentication to act on behalf of the user.

> By this logic, Linux servers are insecure.

Yes, if we go with there being one single thing called "Linux servers", they are insecure by the same measurement.

I would differentiate between mobile software that targets end users and server software that targets professionals.

With server operating systems, you provide secure/convenient defaults (with Linux distros often leaning towards convenient), but you always provide the systems administrator the ability to `curl ... | sudo sh`. You also say it is the system administrator's fault if they ever do that and something goes bad. If you are a platform owner with millions of users, you cannot claim security when you allow for any code to be run, sandboxed or not.

What about Apple's practices make the Librem less usable? They don't forbid developers selling versions of their apps on other platforms. They don't require exclusivity contracts with carriers or retailers. They don't control content platforms choices of DRM schemes. How is it that one company, that had never before produced a cell phone, in 2007 managed to make such a complete shakeup of the industry that they are now the single largest player in the industry? How did this company, known for its "my way or the highway" product design and its very consistent stance on locking down the phone OS become the leader in the space? Why has open not won? Why haven't Spotify, Epic and all the various people upset about Apple's policies not poured resources into a unified open phone platform that allows them to have the freedoms they demand and the quality the consumers expect?

If we lived in a world that was like the 90's computers era, where Apple was dominating the software front and by extension the hardware front. If people only ever developed for iOS, and most never bothered with even a cursory port to android; then maybe it would be reasonable to say that Apple's business practices make Librem or even Android unappealing to consumers and anti-competetive in the market.

But the evidence just doesn't seem to support that. Most developers are clearly willing to write two versions of their apps. Certainly the major vendors are. Apple doesn't sell their OS for any other hardware except their own, and there are multiple other hardware vendors, so it's not a case of "have to bundle an iOS license with every phone regardless of the OS shipped".

The conclusion has to be that there's something specific about Apple's combination of hardware and software that makes it compelling despite the lack of open access. So the question then becomes what is it that Apple is offering that open platforms can't or won't offer?

Ok, but all the freedoms people want from iOS and Apple are already present on Google and Android. And any restrictions by the 3rd parties that block non iOS or Android OSes are problems with those vendors not Google or Apple. Perhaps we’d be better served by mandating that banks and governments not dictate the OS you can use to access their services, rather than try to force Apple to do completely unrelated things that don’t solve the problems you mention.

Everything everyone says they want from Apple as far as openness and ability to install and run any software they want is available on numerous Android and non-Android devices. The ability to install one’s own OS is available on numerous devices that are not iPhones. The clear conclusion then must be that people don’t just want those things. They also want specifically iOS and specifically an iPhone. Otherwise they would buy any of the other options available to them.

but in reality it's like two builds of the same OS with different features turned on (e.g. phone app vs split-screen support and such)

If you want to use geofenced features (while being outside the fence) you'd want to hide your location when your device checks it for the purposes of geofencing. Which is, I'd imagine, all the time.