I had written a while back how uncomfortable it is for Apple writers when the developers fight with Apple.
I’ve listened to many Apple journalists talk about this case over the past few weeks and for the most part, they seem to hem and haw or take weak positions. They act like guests at a party where the host couple is having a fight. They don’t want to say anything that would make either side angry.
Why is that? I can only surmise that it is because they don’t want to raise the ire of their app developer friends. On the one hand, these journalists don’t want to lose their access to Apple. Those special event invitations are highly prized in their little bubble world. And yet, on the other hand, those special events are full of app developers. These journalists don’t want to end up persona non-grata at the coffee shop gathering. They want to be liked within their little circle.—Perezonomics.com 06/01/2019
No one in this current spat between Apple and Epic illustrates my point better than Jason Snell writing for MacWorld a couple weeks ago. He tries not to take sides and simply says “he’s rooting for the users”. After which he immediately advocates for AppStore fragmentation. This is terrible for users. But it’s great for developers.
His first point is that it’s bad for the users that they can’t purchase books or comics directly from their apps because the developers won’t absorb the 30% in-app purchase fee. So Jason is advocating for payment fragmentation. Meaning that now buying stuff may require alternate payment methods. That sucks. That’s a step back for the consumer, not a step forward.
To illustrate my point why payment fragmentation is bad, think about why people like buying stuff on Amazon so much versus shopping on every retailers own website? Lack of payment fragmentation, that’s why. People just want to get their order in with as little work as possible. They don’t want to haul out their credit card every time there is a good price at some obscure website they’ve never heard of. With Amazon or iOS you you never need to worry about setting up an account to purchase something. All of your information is already there and you trust the store owner.
And yet Jason is advocating a return to an environment where every app owner can require you to haul out your credit card and start an account. Jason sides with developers on a vision of the future which is hostile to the consumer.
I do agree with Jason that it would great if people could buy their books or comics directly in the app. But the best case scenario for the consumer is being able to pay with their single iCloud account and not having to setup multiple accounts everywhere. The problem is with the vendor, not Apple. Do vendors really think that iOS customers wouldn’t pay $6.29 vs $4.99 for something? Consumers deserve choice. Let the consumers who crave simplicity pay the convenience cost of using their iCloud account and if some consumers balk at the higher prices, let those take the time to seek out your website. Everybody wins.
I’m also sick of hearing people say that they want iOS to be more open like PCs are. Did these guys actually use PCs in the 90’s? I did. It was horrible. Appstore fragmentation sucks. I remember having to maintain a software binder which included all my software codes and user account passwords. Migrating to a new PC was a whole weekend event that involved looking up all my software codes or going to individual websites to redownload apps. I do NOT want to go back to that.
The great thing for users on iOS is that all your software is in one place. No “software binders” are necessary because your iCloud password is the key to everything. And if you get a new iphone every year, this is great. You simply enter your iCloud password and you’ve unlocked all of your software.
I don’t want AppStore fragmentation to occur because I love simplicity and ease. I refuse to buy any software for the Mac unless it’s on the Mac AppStore and I only buy my books through iBooks. This makes migrating from one iPad, iPhone, or Mac extremely easy. Something I could never say for my Windows machines.
An environment where iOS users can get all of their software in one spot or pay for merchandise with one account is the ideal scenario. It is ideal on multiple levels. It’s easier to manage, more secure, and more private. It is one that Apple is working to achieve.
And yet, many Apple writers are openly criticizing Apple under the guise of “it’s a bad look for Apple”. This makes no sense. Bad look to who? Because consumers don’t like fragmentation and want everything simple and easy. I suppose it’s a bad look to the developers who want to cut Apple out of the revenue stream.
The only explanation I can think of for why they are doing this is because either they are developers or are unduly influenced by their developer friends. Because all of their suggestions lead to AppStore fragmentation which is negative for the consumer but highly coveted by the developer.
I’ve listened to many Apple journalists talk about this case over the past few weeks and for the most part, they seem to hem and haw or take weak positions. They act like guests at a party where the host couple is having a fight. They don’t want to say anything that would make either side angry.
Why is that? I can only surmise that it is because they don’t want to raise the ire of their app developer friends. On the one hand, these journalists don’t want to lose their access to Apple. Those special event invitations are highly prized in their little bubble world. And yet, on the other hand, those special events are full of app developers. These journalists don’t want to end up persona non-grata at the coffee shop gathering. They want to be liked within their little circle.—Perezonomics.com 06/01/2019
No one in this current spat between Apple and Epic illustrates my point better than Jason Snell writing for MacWorld a couple weeks ago. He tries not to take sides and simply says “he’s rooting for the users”. After which he immediately advocates for AppStore fragmentation. This is terrible for users. But it’s great for developers.
His first point is that it’s bad for the users that they can’t purchase books or comics directly from their apps because the developers won’t absorb the 30% in-app purchase fee. So Jason is advocating for payment fragmentation. Meaning that now buying stuff may require alternate payment methods. That sucks. That’s a step back for the consumer, not a step forward.
To illustrate my point why payment fragmentation is bad, think about why people like buying stuff on Amazon so much versus shopping on every retailers own website? Lack of payment fragmentation, that’s why. People just want to get their order in with as little work as possible. They don’t want to haul out their credit card every time there is a good price at some obscure website they’ve never heard of. With Amazon or iOS you you never need to worry about setting up an account to purchase something. All of your information is already there and you trust the store owner.
And yet Jason is advocating a return to an environment where every app owner can require you to haul out your credit card and start an account. Jason sides with developers on a vision of the future which is hostile to the consumer.
I do agree with Jason that it would great if people could buy their books or comics directly in the app. But the best case scenario for the consumer is being able to pay with their single iCloud account and not having to setup multiple accounts everywhere. The problem is with the vendor, not Apple. Do vendors really think that iOS customers wouldn’t pay $6.29 vs $4.99 for something? Consumers deserve choice. Let the consumers who crave simplicity pay the convenience cost of using their iCloud account and if some consumers balk at the higher prices, let those take the time to seek out your website. Everybody wins.
I’m also sick of hearing people say that they want iOS to be more open like PCs are. Did these guys actually use PCs in the 90’s? I did. It was horrible. Appstore fragmentation sucks. I remember having to maintain a software binder which included all my software codes and user account passwords. Migrating to a new PC was a whole weekend event that involved looking up all my software codes or going to individual websites to redownload apps. I do NOT want to go back to that.
The great thing for users on iOS is that all your software is in one place. No “software binders” are necessary because your iCloud password is the key to everything. And if you get a new iphone every year, this is great. You simply enter your iCloud password and you’ve unlocked all of your software.
I don’t want AppStore fragmentation to occur because I love simplicity and ease. I refuse to buy any software for the Mac unless it’s on the Mac AppStore and I only buy my books through iBooks. This makes migrating from one iPad, iPhone, or Mac extremely easy. Something I could never say for my Windows machines.
An environment where iOS users can get all of their software in one spot or pay for merchandise with one account is the ideal scenario. It is ideal on multiple levels. It’s easier to manage, more secure, and more private. It is one that Apple is working to achieve.
And yet, many Apple writers are openly criticizing Apple under the guise of “it’s a bad look for Apple”. This makes no sense. Bad look to who? Because consumers don’t like fragmentation and want everything simple and easy. I suppose it’s a bad look to the developers who want to cut Apple out of the revenue stream.
The only explanation I can think of for why they are doing this is because either they are developers or are unduly influenced by their developer friends. Because all of their suggestions lead to AppStore fragmentation which is negative for the consumer but highly coveted by the developer.
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