from Hacker News

Subscription or no subscription? That is not the question

by OberstKrueger on 8/20/20, 2:18 PM with 1 comments

  • by zepto on 8/20/20, 4:50 PM

    I was extremely unimpressed by the previous posting from IA.

    This, however is a different matter. Very informative, well reasoned, and with a very straightforward solution proposed.

    There is a little bit of the unhelpful snark and demonization of Apple, but it’s inconsequential to the argument being made, and well under control.

    I don’t think it’s reasonable for Apple to charge a fee as low as credit card processors charge.

    Anyone who claims that is all they are doing is being intellectually dishonest.

    I also don’t think Apple should subsidize the store costs and investments from other sources. That would be just as anti-competitive as any other thing they are accused of, especially given that they don’t really operate according to P&L per division.

    However, the author has convinced me that the App Store profit margin should be low. Essentially what Jobs originally promised - not something they make money from. It has clearly stopped being that.

    Of course for those concerned about Apple having a monopoly, the paradox is that if Apple lowers margins and more developers are successful on the platform, their position will become even stronger.