[Razengan]

Why should Epic get to enjoy a market that Apple built without giving Apple anything or following the rules of the platform?

Should anybody be able to post anything they want on HN or YouTube or Facebook etc.? They can't.

Does Epic allow anyone to sell content for Fortnite without giving Epic any money? They don't.

[dylan-m]

Apple have hundreds of millions of loyal users buying new iPhones every few years as a result of that market. I think from that alone they are plenty compensated, and it's a perfectly good reason for Apple to provide a decent SDK. Or should successful developers send them a cake, too?

Apple should ask for compensation proportionate to the value they are providing Epic. Which they do, in the form of paid Apple developer accounts, and a 30% cut on services Epic is using.

For instance, if you choose to make your app free, Apple won't get that 30% cut on sales. This doesn't mean they are magically entitled to money as compensation - the transaction simply didn't happen. If they don't like that arrangement, maybe they should charge more for developer accounts?

[sjg007]

Consumers bought the phone which can be be considered a general computing device.. so we should be free to run whatever software we want on it. That's the real argument.

[fooey]

This situation is a very large part of the reason I would never buy an iPhone.

The walled garden isn't a surprise, it's a feature.

[Keyframe]

I agree with that, but it’s then also a broader question that covers all computing devices. Should I be able to run free whatever software I want in my car, in any of its systems? How about medical devices or any of the gaming consoles? It’ll probably end up being an argument on what a general computing device is.

[chillacy]

I mean... yes? I think we should have the right to modify / tinker with things we buy, with the understanding that doing so voids any warranties or manufacturer liability.

[m-p-3]

I wish I could say yes to all of those, as long as the risks of unintended behavior and damage are clearly explained.

[heavyset_go]

> Should I be able to run free whatever software I want in my car, in any of its systems?

You already do. Mechanics do this all of the time with aftermarket firmware.

> How about medical devices or any of the gaming consoles

Jailbreaking is explicitly legal.

[unchar1]

Actually developers built the market. Without that Apps on the App store, the iPhone is worth almost nothing.

[practice9]

Yep, lack of apps is why Windows Phone died

[mulletbum]

It would still be a phone.

That said, of course developers built the market, but not every developer built the market. Apple developers built it. Other developers have chosen to sell inside of it.

Without Apple Developers creating the store itself those developers couldn't sell anything. Apple could 100% do that if they wanted. In fact, the first iPhone was as such.

[52-6F-62]

Not to clients like myself who bought it because of the security provided by that locked-down environment. I'm not concerned about a game not being sold on it. It provides for a host of other purposes.

[m-p-3]

If executed properly, those two seemingly opposed features could be achieved and make more people happy.

Make it possible to unlock iOS ability to sideload apps, either through a unique code, a security certificate, or a simple toggle and allows businesses to lock down (but not remotely enable) this ability using their MDM.

Of course, put the usual disclaimer that enabling this feature could weaken the device security, and don't simply enable it because an app or a website told you so.

[throwaw4y-plate]

All I can do is throw up my hands and say "Stallman was right."

[stale2002]

They should have access to it, because Apple is engaging in anti-competitive practices that are illegal, thats why.

[Razengan]

Does Epic allow anyone to sell content for Fortnite outside of Fortnite, without giving any money to Epic?

[stale2002]

Anti-competitiveness becomes worse, and illegal, if a market is larger.

Many practices which would be perfectly legally normally, become illegal if your company is large enough.

The market for iPhone apps is much much larger than the market for fortnite skins.

If the market for specifically fortnite skins was 50 billion dollars a year, then maybe you would have a point, but it is not.