Well, I’m sure we all remember the rapidly escalating drama between Apple and Epic Games from last week. In short, Epic implemented an alternate payment method into Fortnite on iOS allowing users to purchase the in-game currency V-Bucks directly through Epic at a 20% discount. This was in response to a long-held belief from Epic Games and specifically CEO Tim Sweeney that digital storefronts like the App Store take far too large of a cut of the profits (30%) and that their strict guidelines create a monopolistic position. The alternate payment method in Fortnite is a direct violation of App Store guidelines, which Epic was very aware of, and Apple within hours pulled the game from the App Store. Almost immediately Epic filed legal papers against Apple for doing that, and then shortly after debuted a video called “Nineteen-Eighty Fortnite", a parody of Apple’s iconic “1984" Super Bowl ad, inside of Fortnite itself. Epic rolled out the same update to Fortnite on Google Play, and Google followed suit later in the day by also pulling the game from their store. Since then other major tech companies like Facebook and Spotify have show support for Epic in this fight.
Now Apple is trying to throw its knockout punch by threatening to terminate all of Epic’s developer agreements and tools if they don’t provide a compliant copy of Fortnite without the alternate pay method by August 28th. To be clear, this goes well beyond Fortnite. Epic has one of the most popular free game engines in the entire industry with Unreal Engine and there are a multitude of games that use that engine on both iOS and macOS, including games in Apple’s own Apple Arcade. Locking out Epic from iOS and macOS developer tools means they would not be able to provide updates or support for Unreal Engine on those platforms anymore, and that will trickle down to any developer using Unreal Engine as well, whether they have any skin in this Epic vs Apple game or not.
Epic has filed for an injunction against the August 28th deadline as they claim that beyond anything to do with Fortnite Apple’s actions would be “catastrophic for the future of the separate Unreal Engine business. If the Unreal Engine can no longer support Apple platforms, the software developers that use it will be forced to use alternatives." And yeah, Apple devices represent a huge part of the gaming market, so if you were going to choose between one that works on Apple and one that doesn’t, the choice is pretty much made for you. But really this does massive harm to those already using Unreal Engine for their games, as it’s entirely possible some of those developers won’t have the resources to just up and port their game to an entirely new engine on a whim.
Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 17, 2020
It’s really hard to see any side of this whole fiasco that isn’t ugly. Yes, Epic very blatantly broke App Store guidelines which they originally agreed to in order to be on the App Store, so Apple punishing them seems entirely justified. But Apple also pulling in hundreds if not thousands of iOS and macOS developers into the line of fire as collateral damage in an effort to swing their weight around is even worse in my opinion. I’m sure Epic has very selfish reasons for wanting to break a hole in Apple’s Walled Garden, but their efforts can also create a situation that’s better for all developers in the future, and they’re really one of the only big companies in a position to pick a fight with someone like Apple. The App Store has been nothing short of groundbreaking in its relatively brief existence, but it also feels well overdue for a revamp in its ways, and this is the sort of thing that can affect positive changes for consumers and developers.
Smartphones aren’t newfangled devices anymore, they’re part of the everyday lives of billions of people. We don’t all need our hands held anymore and for those of us that choose to we should be able to use the devices we paid for in the ways that we want to. I’ve been loyal to Apple for almost 20 years now, and to iOS since its inception, and I’ve been fairly accepting of their strict positions about things over the years, even if I didn’t totally agree with them. But those decisions do pile up, and their refusal to approve Microsoft’s xCloud on iOS has been the straw to break the camel’s back for me, to the point that I went out and picked up an Android tablet last week. Honestly I’ve been enjoying learning a different mobile operating system and it’s really quite eye-opening to see all of the things that are possible with Android if you have the desire. New iPhones will surely come out this fall and for the first time ever I’m not sure if I’ll be first in line to get one or if I’ll just wait it out and look for other smartphone options that better suit my needs.
One thing that also shouldn’t be glossed over is just how important games like Fortnite are to Apple’s own bottom line. Sure, Apple are unparalleled in their ability to squeeze out massive amounts of profit on the hardware devices they make, but as hardware sales inevitably slow down, they’ve been making a huge push into the services market. Apple doesn’t break it down into specifics, but the “services" portion of their business brings in billions and billions of dollars a year, and the bulk of that is certainly not coming from Apple TV+ subscriptions or iCloud storage bundles. Apple’s 30% cut of ALL the money that flows through the App Store is a Golden Goose that they can’t afford to lose, and while Fortnite alone won’t put a major dent in those profits, if the government decides to crack down and require Apple to allow 3rd party app stores on iOS or change up how large a percentage they can take from app sales, it could very much have a huge effect on their revenue. And if Epic does get their day in court against Apple in the future, I don’t see things going Apple’s way given the climate with their recent antitrust inquiries. Today’s actions feel like Apple going straight for Epic’s throat to prevent that day in court from happening, and unfortunately a whole bunch of developers are being caught in the crossfire as well.
Slapping Fortnite for this is one thing, and most of us just eat popcorn and watch giant coprorations fight.
But, the removal of tool support which will then impact one of the most popular gaming engines will ripple throughout the eco-system and really hurt Apple PR from devs POV I would think.
Do you remember the time (very early on in the life of the iPhone app store) where Apple demanded that you can only use first party development tools? I think that lasted about 3 weeks.
Apple is painting themselves into a corner with this idiotic move. Lol.
This combined with their blocking of xCloud and Stadia and their refusal to allow GPL software have convinced me to switch away from iOS. When my iPhone 6S gives out, I will switch to a non-Apple phone. I haven't decided whether that will be a device running Android, a Purism phone, or a Pine phone, but either way I won't be locked into a single app store.
I already did the switch a few weeks ago. Oneplus 8 Pro. Sucks that for gachas I play, the paid currency either will not transfer or will become free currency, but I think that is a small price to pay.
I'll be happy to read some Android articles in the future ;)
Though until recently (xbox...) I was certain I'd switch to iOS for my next phone, since I am much happier with it through my tablet. Android has all kinds of issues that I've come to abhor, so I wonder how this will be for you. Just a few:
-- SD card is a lie. (The cake too.) You can stored photos there just fine, but good luck figuring out on any given phone and any given camera app how to make photos go there by default. And apps have to opt in to allowing storage on the sdcard, even on "adopted" cards, and many won't run at all from SD. The last thing I want on a mobile device is that maintenance nightmare. At the same time it serves as an excuse for not having proper amounts of builtin storage on many phones.
-- Shared internal storage is similarly messy as Documents and AppData combined on Windows, creating the next maintenance nightmare.
-- Android permissions are less useful. Many permissions bundle important things with harmless things, not all apps allow rejecting permissions, and the SD card permission is requested by every app and their grandparents.
-- Reputation of few apps having proper big-screen adjustments. Apples separation of phone- and tablet-apps created the necessary pressure here on the devs.
-- Inferior native conroller support. Notably, sometimes games have good support on iOS and NONE on Android, so it is likely an underlying design issue in the APIs. Never mind the recent addition of native PC conroller support; Mobile conrollers are attrocious in pricing and quality, AND needing an extra piece of hardware is never welcome.
etc...
Eonder how you'll fare, rspecially with a tablet....
You sound like someone who is used to Apple devices abd tested out a crap chinese knockoff android device before you made up you mind. I used to be Apple all the way but I got tired of the control and limits they placed on their phones. Android are not difficult to use...many of the issues you posted above are not even true. Internal storage is easy to use if you are familiar with how PC's work. Apple has no folder management in which you can have access to the entire system (mostly). Permissions are more robust and refined with android instead of the blanket permissions Apple allows. I suggest trying a name branded android phone instead.
Always made me laugh when Apple talked about “sticking it to the man!” - they are the man! A company that feels its ok to control what it’s users say and think; remember the last time your ‘swear’ text was predicted as something ridiculously benign, when the Apple Store employee held the attitude that they were doing you a favor by allowing you to spend $1000 on a phone, or when they pulled all mentions of the confederate flag, even including textbooks? (I believe the Nazi’s liked burning books Apple). I have had an iPhone since the very beginning, but Apple are revolting and turn my stomach in so many ways, that I too need to switch my loyalty.
I wouldn't mind picking up an Android tablet as an alternative. What is a model equal to the power of an iPad, that costs about the same or preferably less? Any reviews of Android tablets always seem to be about the same price as an iPad, but have much slower processors, often generations behind.
Then there is the issue of game purchases not transferring over to Android, although not a huge issue for free to play stuff. Bonus points if I can find an Android tablet with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
I have some older Android tablets that I used to use to side-load stuff or for a rare game that wasn't on iOS, but those are so outdated now they are still running Jelly Bean or Kit Kat.
Don't be to optimistic about the F2P games. Often they may use infrastructure of the operating system for multiplayer and save games, so you may not be able to transfer your progress between iOS and Android or, of that's relevant, play with the same people.
There could also be significant lock in with the save games for single player games.
Most of the free to play games I have offer the option to transfer progress across ecosystems, with the caveat that paid premium currency either will not transfer (as it’s tied to Apple ecosystem) or will become free ones (gacha games often offer limited summons locked behind premium currency).
I think the ones backed by established companies usually offer such option, while the smaller ones may not.
So you're saying the market for video games is larger than iOS/iPadOS and that consumers have a choice when it comes to what system they end up using for the apps they like? That's not what Epic is telling the court.
It is technically true, but missing the point. Though it doesn't fit the usual definition, you can also have a monopoly not only by being the ONLY supplier, but also by having a prohibitive barrier of switching to another.
If they want to play a game on mobile, most people aren't going to buy a new phone for it. It may cause them to reconsider the platform on the next purchase, but there are many more arguments for a platform than the availability of ONE service.
So, as far as the service provider is concerned, they're effectively still inside a walled garden. If this garden is significant in size, regulation might therefore be warranted, even if customers technically have a choice.
Is there more of a barrier to selling iPhone/iPad hardware than any other type of device that plays games that you were disappointed with? I don't think there is. It might be inconvenient to do so, but I think you'd have a hard time arguing it's prohibitive in court. It's not really any different than purchasing a Nintendo Switch and then being disappointed that it won't carry xCloud in the digital store.