[creativeSlumber]

I can't understand the cost basis for that fee that apple is imposing. If I install an thrid party app from a third party store to my phone, it wouldn't cost apple anything. Even the bandwidth cost to download is from the third party store. In this transaction, actually Apple will be the unrelated "third party"that has nothing to do with that transaction. So isn't this fee just an extortion attempt?

[smoldesu]

Strictly speaking, it costs Apple nothing to run third-party software on your device. The closest thing to a compulsory fee is whatever Apple has to pay for the notarization process (which is pennies on the dollar).

> So isn't this fee just an extortion attempt?

That's up to the courts to decide, but Apple certainly hasn't painted themselves a favorable picture. When Dutch regulators tried pressing them to include alternative payment services, Apple continued demanding 27% of those transactions. Their disrespectful and obstinate behavior in the Netherlands is what made the DMA such an urgent act in the first place.

So all this will be well-worth keeping an eye on. The iPhone already turns record-breaking profits off hardware sales alone, it will be difficult for Apple to argue they're inherently deserving of taxing aftermarket transactions. At this point, "0%" is starting to seem like the only logical software fee for iOS.

[toyg]

There is no cost basis. It's just another way to making the point that, if you do anything serious on their platform, you owe Apple some serious cash. Extortion is a strong word, I prefer the more objective "parasitical rent-seeking".