[ken]

- Payment processing, yes (though no other payment processor charges anywhere near 30% -- Stripe is 2.9%, I think?).

- Build, not exactly -- only in the sense that they can handle minor upgrades via bitcode for new ARM variants, if you choose to enable that.

- Moderate/curate, sure.

- Provide a lucrative channel? Yes, but only because they've made it the only channel by fiat.

I'm not sure I see 30% worth of mandatory value here. Is Apple's moderation so good it's worth 27% the cost of my app? Do developers think they're paying for bitcode upgrades, and do they think that justifies the fee? Recompiling for new minor architectures isn't difficult.

For that matter, is there more value provided in moderation for a more expensive app? If they approve my app at $5, and then I up the price to $25, did their moderation process retroactively become more valuable to anyone?

[sbuk]

Storage/hosting, support and distribution (bandwidth) are missing frim the list. Arguably, it may not cover 30%, but it does provide for more than 2.9%

[Oletros]

Spotify/Kindle/etc subscriptions and purchases are not hosted or distributed by Apple.

[sbuk]

No, but the apps are. Spotify comes in at 98MB, and Kindle at 113MB. That is a lot of bandwidth. Since Amazon don't offer IAP, they get that for free, Spotify do offer IAP, so contribute that way.

[Oletros]

Then Apple or Google can make developers pay for the size.

And no, Amazon doesn't get it for free, they pay the developer fees like ALL the other developers

[sbuk]

> Then Apple or Google can make developers pay for the size.

They do; it's part of the 30% margin for the price of an App/IAP.

[Oletros]

IAP doesn't have any size for Apple

[ksec]

Apple do offer iTunes Credit and often does discount of up to 15% from Retailers. ( I am betting those iTunes Credit are wholesale at anywhere between 13% to 10% discount, and Retailers takes in ~10 - 8% after deducting processing fees )

Still, not many buy iTunes Credit. Most just use Credit Card direct from Apple Pay. But even if we have included all these, the 30% is still excessive.

The problem Apple is having is similar to their phone, it is not about the price tag or the 30% charges, it is people paying for it fail to see or justify its value. Apple will need to offer more "values". From Developers to its Users.