Re:Apple confirms it's breaking iPhone web apps in the EU on...
by robertlagrant on Saturday February 17, 2024 @10:41AM
(#39410447)
> If the post-App Store world is so great, people will keep living in it even when alternative stores exist
Bear in mind I'm replying to someone who's saying app stores aren't necessary in general:
> Well shit, what user needs an app store to begin with
Re:Apple confirms it's breaking iPhone web apps in the EU on...
by smoldesu on Saturday February 17, 2024 @11:08AM
(#39410686)
In a reductive sense, they're right. Computers existed for upwards of three decades without App Stores, and we distributed software just fine without 'em.
Apple could sign software the same way they do on Mac and effectively turn the App Store into an IPA-downloading PWA.
Because it seems to be that way on MacOS. On Mac, the App Store is absolutely useless and exclusively something people do not want. It does not distribute the software users want, it charges them extra fees, and limits the type of app you distribute.
Judging by every single professional Mac user I've met, circumventing the App Store is a functional necessity for some. Most of them absolutely "put up with" the limitations and issues of MacOS.
> What about the pre-app store world made it the one preferred by consumers in your mind?
The freedom? The cheaper software? The stronger OS security models and lack of social-manipulation-as-a-security-feature?
If the post-App Store world is so great, people will keep living in it even when alternative stores exist. I suspect that most users will not give a rats ass about convenience if there's a 30% cheaper subscription elsewhere.