[rkagerer]

"Apple said it is acting only as the agent for app developers who sell the apps to consumers through the App Store."

Sure, an agent who just so happens to control the platform, the API's and building blocks, all the rules, the horizontal, the vertical, and unilaterally decides which apps are allowed to exist. But, "we're just an agent".

I'm not familiar enough with the case to form an opinion on the whole thing, but I do hope the court sees through that particular sham of an argument.

[rickycook]

i wouldn’t pin that all on anti competitive behaviour though... the end to end control of the platform is kind of Apples MO, and is a fairly distinguishing feature between the Android ecosystem and the Apple ecosystem. it’d be nice to have another distribution option, but not at the expense of a simple UX, security, or any other very valid reason to only allow a tightly controlled experience

[lwansbrough]

Oh okay, so as long as it's their MO to have a monopoly then it's fine. I'm sure plenty of iPhone users, for example, would like to have a PornHub app on their iPhone, but that's currently impossible because of Apple's guidelines. You could build a very high quality app and be denied for a reason strictly outside of the "UX, security 'or any other very valid reason'" that Apple arbitrarily decides.

[caf]

Forget PornHub, the Valve's SteamLink app is a much better example. Denied, on Apple's own words, because of a business model conflict.

[scarface74]

And what would this pornhub app do that you couldn’t do from the website?

Should Nintendo also be forced to sell a PornHub game?

[AnthonyMouse]

> And what would this pornhub app do that you couldn’t do from the website?

Store files for offline use or untracked use, have better privacy because user settings can be stored locally rather than on the server, provide source code that can be audited rather than relying on javascript that can change at any time, etc. In general, anything an app can do that a website can't -- otherwise why do native apps even exist?

> Should Nintendo also be forced to sell a PornHub game?

They shouldn't be allowed to prevent someone else from distributing one.

[scarface74]

So let’s see, you downloaded the files from their server, now they have a unique id for each user and they can track you more.

Most commercial apps aren’t going to give you access to the source control.

[AnthonyMouse]

> So let’s see, you downloaded the files from their server, now they have a unique id for each user and they can track you more.

Which you can verify they aren't doing if they provide the source code. Or the non-Apple app distributor could verify that they aren't or otherwise sandbox the apps they distribute to prevent that from happening -- another advantage to competition.

> Most commercial apps aren’t going to give you access to the source control.

For something like that, why wouldn't they? Especially when there is a specific reason to, because it's something people are unusually privacy-sensitive about.

And it's not as if a community-developed Pornhub app that did would be accepted into the App Store either.

[wild_preference]

Their point wasn't just "it's their MO". You just attacked the lowest hanging fruit. It doesn't make for good discussion.