My Cynical Thoughts on Apple and the EU
I’m not sure how I feel about the Apple situation in the EU. However, from what I’m seeing, it’s primarily two groups that want the iPhone to be more open - people selling apps or other digital products and people who like to pirate apps. Don’t get me wrong - 15 years ago, I would certainly have been in the second group. These days, I don't need or want a lot of apps, and I'm able to pay for the ones I do want.
From what I see, iPhone customers are much more likely to spend money on apps and digital products purchased through apps than Android users. So, it makes sense that companies want to have their products and services on the iPhone. To me, it also makes sense for Apple to charge for access to that market - just like every other entity that has a market people want to sell in. Malls do it. Television programs do it. Google does it. Facebook and Amazon do it too. But, like Superbowl ads are more expensive than an ad spot on a morning talk show, it's more expensive to gain access to Apple's market than to Android's.
Let's just say I have trust issues. It's not that I'm an Apple fanboy, it's that I am really sick of everybody trying to sell to me or scam me all the freaking time. And, just about everybody I see writing about how awful Apple is for not opening up the walled garden has a monetary reason for doing so.
Any time I make a purchase, there are tradeoffs. I loved the idea of Android customizability, so I moved to a Samsung phone for a few years a while back. I could take my battery out and put in a fresh one. I could use my phone as a tiny computer hooked up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. But, when Google released a new version of Android, I couldn't always get it for my phone. It was a crapshoot if anybody would bother building it and releasing for anything but a shiny new model. At least with my iPhone, I could usually get the latest version on a phone that was a few years old. (Yes, I know Apple intentionally made it perform poorly on older phones. Like I say, tradeoffs.)
I am all for governments breaking up monopolies. Apple is not a monopoly. I am all for governments enforcing companies honoring their commitments and claims. When Apple and others have been guilty of not doing so, I've been firmly on the side of the government. I am all for governments enforcing safety and environmental regulations. Not really the case here.
When I rent an apartment, I can't gut the place and add a new kitchen. If I want to do that, I have to buy a house. It's a tradeoff.
I can't walk into a Walmart and set up a table and start selling my stuff. Hell yeah Walmart has a lot of foot traffic, but just because I want to sell to them doesn't mean I can.
If I want to sell my old stuff in a consignment shop, I have to pick that one that will get me the best price for my goods and balance that with how much of a percentage the shop takes. Let's say the store in the nicer shopping center with better clientele charges me 30% while the store that has a less choice market charges me 10%. If I can charge 70, but only charge 45, I can't stamp my feet and demand that the better store only charge me 10% so I can make $90. Well, I can, but most people wouldn't take up my cause.
And that's just the thing. I feel like people with monetary skin in the game are trying to rally the troops as if this is a moral crusade. It's not. It's just companies pressuring the government to open up markets for them to make more money.
Would it be cool to have a different browser engine running on the iPhone? Probably. And, if it was offered, I might try it. But, I'm not going to get my knickers in a knot if Apple doesn't offer that option, because if that option were important to me as a CONSUMER, I wouldn't buy an iPhone. Would I use a different app store? Maybe. I buy software for my computer from all sorts of places. But, let's face it, most apps are being sold on a subscription model now. I'm not sure as a consumer, I would save any money by buying my apps elsewhere. Yes, the company would make a higher profit, but I don't care about their profit just like they don't care about me.
It's important to say I'm not AGAINST iPhone users being able to buy things elsewhere. I'm just saying the demand for it is mostly coming from people who want to put more money in their pockets and I'm rather weary of them pitching it as some sort of moral failing on Apple's part to not let them do so.