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Re:Apple, Epic, and the App Store by ntsplnkv2 on Monday August 17, 2020 @03:12PM (#24190697)
The App Store is as much the product as the iPhone.

Without the app store the iPhone is literally just a piece of hardware. The idea that the App Store isn't a product in and of itself is a falsehood.

> A service implies app developers have options. They do not.

They do - it's called Android.

Re:Apple, Epic, and the App Store by bluedevil2k on Monday August 17, 2020 @03:22PM (#24190798)
I've heard this argument before...

Internet Explorer is as much the product as Windows.

Without Internet Explorer Windows is literally just a piece of software.

They have options - it's called a Mac

Re:Apple, Epic, and the App Store by ntsplnkv2 on Monday August 17, 2020 @03:27PM (#24190867)
Ah hah! I'm glad you brought this up.

What did Internet Explorer have? DOMINANT MARKETSHARE. That was the problem - not that a program came bundled with software. Such a basic fact conveniently ignored because Apple Bad.

> Without Internet Explorer Windows is literally just a piece of software.

A piece of software that can do many things - an iPhone without apps just doesn't work. Apps run everything - from making phone calls to keeping notes. Windows without internet can still be used. Bad analogy.

Re:Apple, Epic, and the App Store by chipotle_coyote on Monday August 17, 2020 @04:14PM (#24191486)
Internet Explorer didn't have dominant market share; Windows did. You say the problem wasn't that a program came bundled with software, but that was literally the heart of the antitrust action: the government contended that Microsoft was using their defacto operating system monopoly of Windows to give IE a leg up on non-bundled competitors.

> An iPhone without apps just doesn't work.

Sure, but an iPhone without an App Store works fine -- that was literally the way the first iPhone shipped, remember? -- so I'm not quite sure your analogy is a slam dunk here. :)

Re:Apple, Epic, and the App Store by zepto on Monday August 17, 2020 @09:56PM (#24194521)
The iPhone without an App Store doesn’t work fine to install software.

Remember - they originally said - just use web apps, but developers demanded a way to install software, and Apple developed the App Store in response to that demand.