As a developer based in the EU, of course I want to be able to sign on to Apple's new business terms and access the hard-won benefits of the DMA (like external distribution).
But there’s no way I ever would with the specter of a CTF hanging over, even if I never build an app that hits 1M annual downloads.
@rileytestut tried to convince me to build something for AltStore, and I've had several huge Cydia-distributed projects in the past. But Apple's new business terms are currently a no-go
Honestly, we need more people actually saying this stuff out loud, on the record, and not behind closed doors. How many people has Setapp reached out to and got a ‘…no thanks’ for their upcoming iOS store?
@stroughtonsmith I’ve been on Setapp for Mac since the beginning. I have been umming and ahhing for weeks about iPhone. I don’t think I will ever reach anything like 1M on the account in question, and I feel like this is a time for people to stand up. That is why I am seriously considering it. Umm, ahh.
@stroughtonsmith I said „no“ and my main concern is iPad support. I don’t want to deal with customers not understanding why only the iPhone and no other platform is included.
@stroughtonsmith@markusms Yes, I would have thought that iPad apps would be even more important to EU users than iPhone apps… and yet the DMA does nothing to help with that. 🤷♂️
@stroughtonsmith I personally don't think the EU will let the CTF slide. While I'm not a lawyer, I studied law translation and interpreting in university (with a focus on European law) and there already were examples in the past of companies trying to be assholes like Apple is now with the entire ""sideloading"" thing (double quotes because these alternative app stores are not sideloading). The companies seldom have their way, and I think Apple won't get away with it, either.
@Noelwalling@rileytestut the CTF is based on downloads, not revenue. The download itself has to be behind a paywall in some way, or else you're on the hook for the rest of your life
My costs under new agreement would be €500K/yr for the same users. Before taking into account service or hosting fees for any alternative app store.
'Can't you just’ — no, I can’t.
Unity tried the same kind of fees just last year, and as a result trashed their reputation, tanked their business, lost their CEO and had huge layoffs.
It's not my job to contort my business because Apple won't follow the law.
@stroughtonsmith I would love to have my app on an alternative store as well… it will probably never ever reach 1M, but accepting the new terms will feel like me signing on “that this dream will never happen”
@stroughtonsmith Ugh... I somehow forgot that indeed you need to agree to the „alt" terms to distribute even a single app on any of the alt-stores 😬
One way of doing that would be to create a separate dev account for such apps but I'm not even sure if that's "legal" with Apple terms? Can a single "entity" have different dev accounts?
The only way of doing that is via paid apps I guess - but even then it's a risk if updates counts.
@stroughtonsmith@rileytestut The only exception they should add is no CTF for completely free (no ads, no nothing) apps. But I don't think a 0,5€ per user per year for a for-profit app is anything crazy. That's exactly how it's been working on the App Store since the beginning.
@stroughtonsmith@asiergmorato@rileytestut Do you think it would make a difference if Apple changed the CTF to count per paid purchase, rather than per install / upgrade? I realize free apps would still be in trouble, but at least apps at like 1.99 or above would have a pretty clear and risk-free view on their financials?
@markv@asiergmorato@rileytestut if it were based on revenue, it might be fine — but that introduces all kinds of other logistical problems and does make it impossible for Apple to track. Apple can only track downloads, so that's the only way they can do any kind of calculation
@stroughtonsmith@markv@asiergmorato@rileytestut Plenty of other IP licensing companies have no way of tracking per-user revenue but they base their licensing model on this anyway.
Revenue per user per year is the only reasonable version of the CTF that should be allowed to pass muster. I can virtually guarantee that all the big companies already do this, tracking the source of their revenue. The fact that Apple doesn’t trust its developers is not really justification for breaking the law.
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