Over the last month they seem to have banned apps because some government out there didn't like that app. To make matters worse, those very same governments weren't happy with the app being removed from their regional app store but they demanded it removed from all app stores.
The VPN issue was a wake up call for a lot of developers. These apps were on the app store for years and because China didn't like these apps one morning, they banned it and referred to some arbitrary clause in the app store TOS.
The thing is this script has played out before. Twitter also had a vibrant ecosystem of third party developers. Those developers made Twitter into a billion dollar company. Then one morning, they decided certain classes of apps were not okay. This back and forth went on for months until there were barely any apps left. Twitter eventua
The same thing is happening with Apple. Several founders I've spoken to, all with big exits in the past, refuse to write apps first for Apple or Google because of the threat of getting "banned one morning".
Worse, VCs are now getting nervous in investing in startups where the app is the fundamental foundation of the business.
For any market to thrive, there needs to be transparency and stability. Just like Twitter, once developers are gone....they're gone. They won't come back and consumers will start wondering if the 1,000 dollar smartphone they purchased, with subpar apps, is really worth it.
Whilen I entirely agree with your point, I don't think that a comparison between the Apple and Twitter is suitable. One is a company that publishes an operating system, which is locked down and requires software installation through their Monopoly App Store ( which I find highly distasteful), the other one is a web-based social media thing. iOS as a product is in no way similar to twitter.
It's the same thing. iOS is controlled by Apple. Twitter's API is controlled by Twitter. Both invite developers to develop on their platform so they can reap the benefit of increased user functionality.
An API and an operating system that runs on bare metal are in no way similar. One has a bootloader, a kernel, a filesystem, etc. The other is just a set of apis. The freedom to run your own choice of software on the OS that you boot on the hardware you own is important. It's a very different philosophical choice from being able to, or not being able to make use of one company's social media publishing API via https.
If my operating system has a rootkit or APT I am boned. If twitter is hacked I couldn't give a fuck, it doesn't affect my equipment or how I use my computers.
Sure, one is an operating system and one is an API. In the literal sense you are correct.
However, You're completely arguing a point that is different from what the entire discussion is about. We're talking about proprietary control points. The iOS operating system is proprietary and the App store dictates who and who can't publish on it.
The same is the case with Twitter. It has APIs and they control who and who can't use them to make apps.
Both companies have invited developers to make apps. Both companies have benefited from having those apps make their services/devices useful.
I guess what I am trying to say is that having a walled garden operating system is a magnitude worse than a walled garden social media API. Mostly because the OS is the gatekeeper to literally everything else. Twitter is a gatekeeper to hearing the latest ramblings of a Kardashian.
What’s distasteful about that? That’s their key differentiator that enabled a lot of their advantages. And there's also Android anyone could use if they’d want to.
The fact that if you do not control the product you do not actually own the product.
You never buy a Apple device, you pay alot of money for the permission to use the device temporarily
That is distasteful to many people.
>That’s their key differentiator that enabled a lot of their advantages.
This is complete rubbish, there is no reason Apple could not have the App Store, have all the their "advantages" and by default lock their OS down, but still have a path for people that choose to break out of the wall garden, to do so.
I thought they just removed those VPNs apps from the China AppStore? Apple also blocked LinkedIn in Russian store as it’s banned by the government. But only in Russian.
That’s the key problem here, if what Telegram says is true and they’re blocking Telegram worldwide, it’s really different.
There are now plenty of VPN apps on iOS App Store China, some of which have literal "VPN" in their names. Many were removed, but then many new are added. For example, I used an App called Wingy to connect to my shadowsocks server, and that app was removed during the purge of VPN apps. But then other Wingy-like apps appear, and I am now using one of them.
I don't know what exactly has happened though. Is Apple defying China's government in secret now? Or are Chinese regulators only concerned with GFW bypass on some special days that has passed?
Is it possible that the intent is kept somewhat secretive and the review teams aren't aware of it? This would lead to new apps being approved but then catch-up happens and they're removed.
I am speculating and somewhat playing devil's advocate. My thought process is that Apple is huge, global, and communication is going to suffer sometimes for it.
Over the last month they seem to have banned apps because some government out there didn't like that app. To make matters worse, those very same governments weren't happy with the app being removed from their regional app store but they demanded it removed from all app stores.
The VPN issue was a wake up call for a lot of developers. These apps were on the app store for years and because China didn't like these apps one morning, they banned it and referred to some arbitrary clause in the app store TOS.
The thing is this script has played out before. Twitter also had a vibrant ecosystem of third party developers. Those developers made Twitter into a billion dollar company. Then one morning, they decided certain classes of apps were not okay. This back and forth went on for months until there were barely any apps left. Twitter eventua
The same thing is happening with Apple. Several founders I've spoken to, all with big exits in the past, refuse to write apps first for Apple or Google because of the threat of getting "banned one morning".
Worse, VCs are now getting nervous in investing in startups where the app is the fundamental foundation of the business.
For any market to thrive, there needs to be transparency and stability. Just like Twitter, once developers are gone....they're gone. They won't come back and consumers will start wondering if the 1,000 dollar smartphone they purchased, with subpar apps, is really worth it.