[darklion]

> Apps are not even allowed to link out to their website or tell users that Apple/Google is taking a 30% cut!

What business in their right mind would want to sell or stock a product that comes with a label that says, in effect, “Don’t spend your money here, go somewhere else”?

[summerlight]

A large number of products are being sold with some docs that has a link to their own merchandise store and promote them? Apple doesn't have to tell about the competitions on their app store, but they should allow each app whatever they want to do.

[darklion]

> Apple doesn't have to tell about the competitions on their app store, but they should allow each app whatever they want to do.

So you think it's OK that Walmart doesn't want to sell a product that says, "Hey, don't buy this from Walmart", but you think it's wrong for Walmart not to want to sell a product that links to a website, where the website says, "Hey, don't buy any more of our stuff from Walmart"?

[summerlight]

Why not? The former enforces Walmart to do something they don't want to do and the latter enforces Walmart not to do something someone else don't want to do. There is a discrete difference between those two. I don't understand why you don't get this simple old idea?

[error503]

Is that not pretty much exactly what happens when you buy say a Nintendo Switch at Wal-Mart?

Nintendo will encourage you to buy from their online store, competing with Wal-Mart selling physical media (and maybe digital codes too on their own store?).

[ajsnigrutin]

Not just that, but you can buy an iphone in an apple store directly or on amazon, in a walmart, or whatever local tech store is near you.

[darklion]

I'm not sure how that has any relevance here.

So to be clear: if Apple printed on every iPhone box, "This phone is 30% cheaper on Apple.com", you feel that Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, %LOCAL_TECH_STORE%, etc. should be legally obligated to stock those iPhones?

[ajsnigrutin]

Why should they be obligated to stock them? Grandmas that live in cities with walmarts and no apple stores will just buy a samsung or whatever is available in the store.

A better question is, why aren't iphones cheaper at apple stores?

[munk-a]

A business that effectively feels consumer pressure. With their oligopoly neither Apple nor Google are feeling any consumer pressure to behave as good actors.

[lozenge]

Well exactly, which is why we need regulation to force them to stop treating the iPhone like it's an Apple-operated shopping centre.

[ajsnigrutin]

But this is standard in every other business. Want to buy a samsung phone? You can buy it at a samsung store directly or from amazon/walmart/your local telco. Printer? hp.com, or amazon, or walmart or whatever. You can even buy apple devices directly from apple stores or from other retailers.

[smoldesu]

Is my phone a business, or hardware that I own? That seems to be in contention here.

[darklion]

> Is my phone a business, or hardware that I own? That seems to be in contention here.

It's not in contention: it's both of those things. It's just that some people want it to be exclusively one of those things.

[smoldesu]

Why should the business value of my smartphone impede it's functionality as a computer?