>That's exactly why for me as a customer the stringent review process is a bonus.

Nobody would force you not to continue using the Apple Store or maybe an even better store with even better reviews and with an actual quality static analyzer. Apple fans will say that evil apps will go to the bad App Store, then this would be a great news for you and if for some reason a super quality not evil app will not be on the App Store you can then ask yourself why good apps don't want to.

For sure you will get the option to install a numberous number of GPL software.

Your reply does not follow based on the original comment. An app that generated millions to Apple made multiple millions in revenue from users that found it useful.

There is nothing Apple needs to do to 'protect' you: people are buying the app, it's probably doing something well.

Apple is just milking the developer.

>users that found it useful

"Useful" is a huge stretch. I tried the game "egg, inc" this weekend and one of the mechanics forces you to view adds for other apps, and it's all addiction mechanics with an indecent 'skin' on them.

For example, there is one bejeweled-like game where there is a king who is being tortured, and you must make matches at speed or the spikes are driven into him, or he is forced to pee himself. There is another 'match two' like game where your reward is to take a female character and shave her head so she acts ashamed, and then dress her in streetwalker clothing.

So you're mad about a game unrelated to the GP, that passed through the review process anyway?

So your argument is that Apple's review process is useless?

Ultimately, Apple (and Google) have incentivized developers to make terrible games full of ads. Perhaps that is a larger problem that requires a broader, more systemic solution.

You’re making an assumption that the process actually benefits you in a way you care about. If the actual effect is to drive away developers of useful, thoughtful apps while letting a large fraction if trash through, you’re not actually getting the benefit.

They explicitly said it’s benefiting them in a way they care about.

Similarly, when I put my user hat on (as opposed to my SWE hat) I appreciate the curation, at least compared to the Wild West of downloading applications off the internet.

If those autogenerated apps don't get downloads, reviews, or in-app purchases then they wouldn't perform well in the search results. What the user is asking for are good tools to find good apps. That can include curation and metric based solutions. Having a million apps doesn't change anything because most people stop looking after a handful, if that.

They won't be included in the App Store's search, just on whatever store they're shipped on. And search is tough even on a single app store.

The consumer won't feel the developer struggling with less margin. They won't feel the pain as the developer has to work 30-40% harder.

But the impact to global productivity is substantial. Less innovation occurs. Less energy to try new things. Money doesn't spread as widely as it should.

I find this argument difficult as this is kind of how China operates. This free sharing of IP was claimed to enable untold amounts of innovation. However what I actually see for the most part is a market flooded by shitty clones of original IP.

For example, take this dumb phone[1]. It is powered by a Mediatek processor whose IP is freely shared. The innovation that resulted is not something better like an iPhone. Instead 1000s of different shells or an additional button here or there.

[0]: https://hackaday.com/tag/mt6260/

[1]:http://bunniefoo.com/fernvale/fernvale-phone-spread.jpg

I guess this scenario might be a bit different since we are talking about software...but i'm not so sure.

You seem to be making some assumptions here. Why would they be making so much money if they were an app farm?

Successful app farms do make a lot of money. Since the development cost of a single app is very low, it doesn't have to bring in much money to become profitable. Produce apps in bulk, and rake in millions.

To be clear, my assumption are based on what I read about developer houses like this. Sometimes (though it is rare) their accounts are getting closed on App Store and they hit the news.