18th
Is Apple’s grab for a cut of iOS revenue worth it?
Three questions come up:
(a) Are we fine with Apple driving off all competitors for any market for iOS apps it chooses to compete in (iBooks does not have to pay a 30% tax to Apple, Amazon however has to, leaving very little room for any iBooks competitors, and that is before counting the private APIs and customer information advantage iBooks has)?
(b) Do we think it is both fair and good for the platform we love so much that any iOS business can be destroyed or forced to withdraw from the platform by Apple at any moment?
(c) Are iPhones and iOS worth it to pay 43% more for every single service or product used on it, including products like Skype calls (that is if companies find ways to de-bundle their offers in a way that allows them to include Apple’s 30% into their prices, if they do not, they will either quit or raise prices for everybody)? And are iPhones and iOS worth this potential debundling?
