Re:Epic, Spotify, and Tinder form advocacy group to push for...
by Apocryphon on Friday September 25, 2020 @05:25PM
(#24594260)
> There are two reasons for this. One is that Google isn’t the app market leader and so the pressures aren’t there.
And yet, the Play Store is still the dominant app market within the Android ecosystem despite Google's lackadaisical caretaking of it (leading to security and quality issues). This situation would only be heightened in an opened iOS situation, because Apple would still maintain control as is its wont, and because most consumers would be fine staying with the App Store.
> The other is that secondary app stores are basically crippled on Android by comparison to the play store, which is why Epic is also suing google.
Which is a situation that could likely repeat in a (semi-)open iOS for any number of reasons, Epic's legal adventures notwithstanding.
> It just isn’t comparable, so you can’t use it as an example of what would happen.
I disagree. Even if it doesn't exactly repeat, it's likely very similar to it. Ultimately, iOS and Android are more similar than different in that they were both created and promoted by a single business entity. We're not talking about an ecosystem launched by a secondary less powerful company (webOS) or an open source project (Firefox OS, Ubuntu Mobile).
> I think we ultimately need a more open environment where what people can install is not controlled by Apple.
We agree on that.
> If on the other hand we get a court mandated soliton, or anti-trust action, I think we’ll end up further away from a truly open, competitive environment than ever.
All the air will be sucked out of that possibility into what will effectively be a government authorized cartel.
I think given the anemic nature of antitrust action in this country over the past few decades, this is likely politically infeasible, a doomsday scenario bordering on hysteria. Hence, we arrive full-circle: scaremongering.
And yet, the Play Store is still the dominant app market within the Android ecosystem despite Google's lackadaisical caretaking of it (leading to security and quality issues). This situation would only be heightened in an opened iOS situation, because Apple would still maintain control as is its wont, and because most consumers would be fine staying with the App Store.
> The other is that secondary app stores are basically crippled on Android by comparison to the play store, which is why Epic is also suing google.
Which is a situation that could likely repeat in a (semi-)open iOS for any number of reasons, Epic's legal adventures notwithstanding.
> It just isn’t comparable, so you can’t use it as an example of what would happen.
I disagree. Even if it doesn't exactly repeat, it's likely very similar to it. Ultimately, iOS and Android are more similar than different in that they were both created and promoted by a single business entity. We're not talking about an ecosystem launched by a secondary less powerful company (webOS) or an open source project (Firefox OS, Ubuntu Mobile).
> I think we ultimately need a more open environment where what people can install is not controlled by Apple.
We agree on that.
> If on the other hand we get a court mandated soliton, or anti-trust action, I think we’ll end up further away from a truly open, competitive environment than ever. All the air will be sucked out of that possibility into what will effectively be a government authorized cartel.
I think given the anemic nature of antitrust action in this country over the past few decades, this is likely politically infeasible, a doomsday scenario bordering on hysteria. Hence, we arrive full-circle: scaremongering.