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Apple just kicked Fortnite off the App Store

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1704 points ardit33 | 3 comments | 13 Aug 20 19:03 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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lordleft ◴[13 Aug 20 20:04 UTC] No.24147974[source]▶
Imagine if Microsoft did this on PCs. a) prohibiting the installation of non-windows store software (sideloading) and b) insisting that all purchases done via apps give them a 30% cut. I think this is a ridiculous practice on the behalf of Apple.
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eggbrain ◴[13 Aug 20 20:20 UTC] No.24148287[source]▶
I mean, couldn't we just replace Microsoft->Sony and PC->Playstation and the argument falls apart a bit?

> Imagine if Sony did this on Playstation. a) prohibiting the installation of non-PlayStation games and b) insisting that all purchases done via their store give them a 30% cut.

Many platforms are like this -- and many also have the majority marketshare. Is this a call to redefine what platforms can and cannot control?

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ClumsyPilot ◴[13 Aug 20 20:26 UTC] No.24148405[source]▶
There is a distinction between a general purpose computing device and a gaming console. I depend on my computer for important aspects of my life, not just entertainment.

I perceive capricious behaviour like this ad a threat to my liberty and well-being.

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nappy ◴[13 Aug 20 20:48 UTC] No.24148856[source]▶
I agree with this sentiment... But I wonder if Apple considers iPhones to be general purpose computing devices, or even wants them to be. They're not marketed that way, likely most users are uninterested in using an iPhone this way.

A separate concern is around anticompetitive behavior. There is no way to sideload an app, or even use a competing app store, and Apple is charging rent. This is pretty clearly anticompetitive behavior that harms consumers.

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sjs382 ◴[13 Aug 20 21:15 UTC] No.24149321{3}[source]▶
> I agree with this sentiment... But I wonder if Apple considers iPhones to be general purpose computing devices, or even wants them to be. They're not marketed that way, likely most users are uninterested in using an iPhone this way.

But iPads (though iOS was renamed/forked to iPadOS on those devices) are definitely marketed as general purpose computing devices. The headline on https://www.apple.com/ipad/ is "Your next computer is not a computer".

iPad/iPadOS have these same restrictions as iPhone/iOS.

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1. skuthus ◴[13 Aug 20 21:56 UTC] No.24149928[source]▶
Not to mention that the transition to Apple Silicon will lead to the total integration of the Mac App Store into the iOS store, so these policies are going to merge at some point and literally apply to general computers too
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2. dividedbyzero ◴[13 Aug 20 23:14 UTC] No.24150891[source]▶
It's also going to require mandatory brain microchips to ensure all of the user's thoughts conform to Apple policies /s

All of this is still unknown outside of Apple. What is known so far seems to me like it's pointing in the direction of a pretty open macOS and a very much locked down iOS, to satisfy different needs. We'll know more by late fall, I guess.

3. notriddle ◴[14 Aug 20 01:33 UTC] No.24152168[source]▶
I would be thrilled to learn that Apple plans to prevent anyone from running non-Apple-signed code on the Mac, because it would likely lead to better tools for writing iDevice-targetted software on non-Mac platforms (either officially supported, or jury-rigged by third parties out of necessity). As a Linux desktop user with an iPhone, this would inevitably benefit me (I don't write iPhone software right now, but if there was an iPhone compiler for Linux, I might start).

Why do you think Microsoft bothered with WSL? We know that most Windows users won't do it. It was a developer-attracting move, meant to make it easier to build Windows client applications with Linux server components. Apple benefits from the same thing being offered natively. I can't see them abandoning it, even though it does create a tension between the Mac as a consumer product and the Mac as a developer's tool for iOS.