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Comment by drexlspivey | Hacker News Reader

Let me break it to you, Play store also has a 30% tax. So does Steam, Playstation store, Xbox store, Meta quest store, Nintendo, Samsung etc. Why do people only complain about Apple and everybody else gets a pass?

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Because I have the option of using an alternate app store on my Android phone or computer, and I do. Meta, PlayStation, Nintendo, all companies that force me to pay them a cut to install something on my device need to go the way of Apple.

I'm not sure why you thought your point was such a checkmate, as if I have a problem with the company itself, rather than the practice.

The practice as well as the percentage is industry standard by now but i have never heard of anyone complaining about the Meta tax or the Sony tax. It’s always the Apple tax which is a bit weird.

That's probably just because Apple sells more than the other two combined. I find the practice reprehensible no matter whether it's Apple or Amazon doing it.

Did you know that the Meta Quest has sideloading, too? https://sidequestvr.com/

One of the only reasons I use the damn device.

So if the alternate App Store doesn’t take a 30% cut, but also the products charge more than the Apple App Store, you’d still rather use them?

That's how it works on macOS, so... sure.

> Why do people only complain about Apple and everybody else gets a pass

Because mobile phones are not gaming consoles, and are an essential device for everyday life?

Because Steam doesn't prevent you from installing and using games from any other store and doesn't claim it is entitled to a cut?

You’re arguing with people who think Apple charging a business $100 a year to publish Apps on their AppStore is the epitome of corporate greed.

You are hard straw-manning the other side. Please stop.

No I’m not, there’s endless people who crow at the idea of paying a small yearly fee to publish their apps. Search Hackernews.

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