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1704 points ardit33 | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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mrspeaker ◴[] No.24148531[source]
If I go to the App Store on my phone, and go to my "Purchased" list, Fortnite is still listed there. I wasn't up to date, and clicking on "update" gives the message:

    "Fortnite" No Longer Available. The developer has removed this app from the App Store.
Interesting wording. I wonder if they only have one message for pulled-by-Apple vs pulled-by-dev?
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mullingitover ◴[] No.24149088[source]
Epic effectively pulled it themselves when they unilaterally broke their agreement.

I think Apple's cut is egregious but at the same time, they're not a monopoly. My main gripe is that they're behaving as if they're bringing value that the developers are riding on, when in reality nobody would buy iPhones if it weren't for the value that many developers are bringing to the platform, often at no cost to Apple.

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Jellyd ◴[] No.24149235[source]
Who else is apple competing with to put apps on iphones? Compared to android where you have indy devs, samsung store, play store, or any other store; it's a clear monopoly.
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mullingitover ◴[] No.24149292[source]
There isn't an iPhone industry, there's a smartphone industry, and Apple (despite all their profits) only controls a small portion of that business.

Their strategy also adds a lot of consumer value. I use an iPhone specifically because I understand the tradeoffs between freedom and reliability/security, and I go for the reliability/security. Not everyone wants a second job playing sysadmin on their smartphone.

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lostmyoldone ◴[] No.24149527[source]
Apple's smartphone market share in US is almost 50% according to the numbers I see, how is that small?
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1. heavyset_go ◴[] No.24149577{3}[source]
Not only that, they have the majority of app store purchases.

And there is also the fact that the government doesn't classify a trust[1] by the dictionary definition of monopoly:

> Courts do not require a literal monopoly before applying rules for single firm conduct; that term is used as shorthand for a firm with significant and durable market power — that is, the long term ability to raise price or exclude competitors. That is how that term is used here: a "monopolist" is a firm with significant and durable market power.

[1] https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a...