:strip_exif()/i/2004636232.jpeg?f=meta "Epic Games: Apple complicates release of iOS version of Epic Games Store in the EU – Gaming – News")
Now you’re comparing it to other platforms that aren’t comparable. Because of the history of the PC and the way Windows has become what it is, it would be very strange indeed if Microsoft suddenly forced its users to only use apps from their app store. I think a lot of users would even say goodbye to Windows.
With the Apple platform, this has been the case from day 1. All Apple users have always known how it works. Many software developers have been able to create apps that would otherwise never have existed because of Apple’s policy. And many users of Apple products would not even dare to start on another smartphone platform. So because of Apple’s policy, many users have been added that would otherwise never have existed. Precisely because Apple has always enforced security and consistency.
Those users are now being ripped off by the EU. And why? Not even because users are protesting en masse. I would have understood that. But it is not users who are protesting, but companies. Companies that did not come up with and implement Apple’s successful model, but are now trying to cash in on it.
I agree with you in that sense, the user should have the choice. Not the software providers. They have to adhere to the policy that Apple has devised and with which they have attracted so many users. Apparently the users do not want that choice at all. I do NOT know ANYONE with an iPhone who would want to install an app that is not simply in the app store. Yet a company is now going to use the EU for their cart so that that company can make money at the expense of Apple and its users.
Don’t forget that this will actually give users less choice. Eventually, Epic (and probably other major providers) will move all their apps to their own app store. As a consumer who wants to play a certain game, you will have no other choice than to install Epic’s app store. And suddenly you are a target for marketers who are very eager to rip you off. Of course, this is also possible via the Apple platform, but there it is subject to strict rules. I can always see which current subscriptions I have, what they cost and when I can cancel them, of all subscriptions in 1 overview. So we will soon lose that.
