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Apple just kicked Fortnite off the App Store

(www.theverge.com)
1704 points ardit33 | 2 comments | 13 Aug 20 19:03 UTC | HN request time: 0.424s | source
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mrspeaker ◴[13 Aug 20 20:31 UTC] 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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jeffrallen ◴[13 Aug 20 20:35 UTC] No.24148597[source]▶
Wonder if that false message could get them in trouble with consumer rights laws?
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java-man ◴[13 Aug 20 20:40 UTC] No.24148686[source]▶
I hope it does.

Monopolies lead to stagnation, rising prices, and inferior product quality. Even though Apple is not a monopoly in the strict sense, I think we consumers will benefit from alternative app store - or Apple opening up the platform.

I believe one can still have (moderately) secure ecosystem without it being a walled garden.

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Zenbit_UX ◴[13 Aug 20 21:35 UTC] No.24149650[source]▶
If you have an iPhone the Appstore is unquestionably a monopoly. At least Google can make the case you can install other app stores so the monopoly claim is weaker.
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qeternity ◴[13 Aug 20 22:01 UTC] No.24150006[source]▶
The mere mention of Google, a perfectly suitable competitor, leads me to believe you don’t understand what a monopoly is...
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1. slaymaker1907 ◴[13 Aug 20 22:23 UTC] No.24150302[source]▶
Google doesn’t make any iOS phones though. You can make it look like there are never monopolies if you choose to only look at certain markets while ignoring others.
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2. qeternity ◴[14 Aug 20 08:38 UTC] No.24155408[source]▶
You’re doing just that: you’re making everything look like a monopoly by focusing on a single product. Yes, Apple has a “monopoly” on iPhones the same way that Nike has a monopoly on Air Jordans. It’s not a monopoly.