Thread by @dhh

Machiavelli would be so proud of Apple. Trying to split the App Store opposition with conditional charity concessions, they – a $2T conglomerate – get to paint any developer making more than $1m as greedy, always wanting more. As clever as its sick. theverge.com/2020/11/18/215…

Quote from Cook is beyond cynical. Written in that faux-care style so beloved by lobbyists. Apple is making smaller app developers growl before Apple (this program isn't even automatic!), such that the abusive tax on payment processing is lowered from 10x to 5x the market rate.

But evne at face value, this is 🤯. If you're a developer making $1m, Apple is STILL asking to be paid $150,000, just to process payments on the monopoly computing platform in the US. That's obscene! You could hire two people at that take, still have money for CC processing.

And to frame that cut – $150,000!!! – as some sort of noble charity is really beyond the pale. Yes, it's better than the even more obscene $300,000 it used to cost to process $1m, but that's like saying it's better to have your arm cut off than your hand. Yeah, sure, but?!

It also further undermines the fantasy that "App Store rules are the same for everyone!". Apple's rulebook and its payment scheme is packed with more pork, exemptions, political considerations, and lobbying wins than a congressional omnibus bill. It's corrupt.

"Our new program carries that progress forward — helping developers fund their small businesses, take risks on new ideas, expand their teams" has all the vibe of a Roman emperor choosing to let one gladiator live and screaming AM I NOT MERCIFUL.

But even if Apple actually did move their rates down – not as conditional charity for smaller developers to beg for, but across the board – we still wouldn't be done! The root of the issue is the monopoly claim that Apple must process all payments, own all customer relationships.

Apple has **terrible** customer service when it comes to many forms of software billing. It's inflexible, slow, inscrutable, and unserviceable by software makers. We spelled this out in detail when they were holding HEY for ransom. hey.com/apple/iap/

The only good thing about this cynical, Machiavellian ploy by Apple to split developers with selective handouts, is that it shows they're sweating. Even if just a little. But enough to twist Cook into the role of an awful lobbyist, constantly singing his own monopoly hymns.

But just because it's cynical, just because it's plainly Machiavellian, that does not mean it won't work! The final line in that Verge write-up was as depressing as it was plausible. Developers are desperate for relief from Apple's abuse. Half the whippings might appeal to some.

This really nails what an cheap gesture this is from Apple's side. While Cook is blowing his horn about "small biz are the backbone", he staked just 5% of App Store revenues on this gambit.

https://twitter.com/jacknicas/status/1329029976058982402?s=20

What continues to be so perverse about Apple's stance that they're entitled to an exclusive hold on all payment processing via the App Store is they – of course!! – allow transactions on the web without it. Using Safari. On an iPhone. This isn't about security. It's about money.

Also, checkout the way Apple is treating journalists, in hope that this hollow move sails through without much critique 👀

Re: "the cut isn't just for CC processing, also hosting/listing/review", eh, no. Hosting/listing/review expenses are covered by the $99/year fee you pay as a developer. That's what Facebook is paying to distribute the most popular and profitable apps in the store!