Epic v. Apple is shining a light on Apple's anti-steering rules, which prevent developers from pointing users to better deals on their website or elsewhere
but Apple could (rightfully) respond that because AltStore *does* now exist, anyone can use it to distribute apps “easily,” including Epic @migueldeicaza : The upsetting part is: most well meaning developers experience the AppStore publishing process as a kick to the teeth Yet, Epic, during their honeymoon phase got the red carpet treatment from Apple- even when they were selling illegal lootboxes (the equivalent of e-crack) Adi Robertson / @thedextriarchy : Epic lawyer is coming back up, and we're going back to GameClub and its iOS service. “Do you remember from your report whether GameCloud's entry into iOS was smooth?” Athey says no — it was rejected more than 100 times, and it can only offer certain games. @hodapp : @tolik @stroughtonsmith Store within a store forever. They eventually just starved us of resources so we could no longer afford to submit new builds of the app to the App Store to play the app design App Approval slot machine to see what changes we would need to make to be allowed to exist at all. Gran PC / @granpc : @rileytestut any idea if AltStore has come up in Epic v. Apple yet? @rileytestut : Hasn't yet, and I doubt it will — technically @altstoreio helps Apple's case by countering Epic's argument there's no way to distribute apps besides the App Store...but Apple also wouldn't want to signal boost AltStore if they don't have to 🤷♂️ https://twitter.com/...
The VergeAdi Robertson
Context & Ripple Effects
The Epic litigation puts Apple’s restrictions on developers’ ability to tell users about outside offers under scrutiny, alongside the practical limits of alternative distribution: AltStore exists, while GameCloud reportedly faced more than 100 rejections and a restricted iOS catalog.
Apple’s anti-steering rules constrain how Epic, GameCloud, and other App Store developers can communicate lower-priced or differently packaged offers to iOS users.
Alternative distributors such as AltStore gain relevance as evidence that iOS distribution need not be limited to the App Store, even as developer access and approval experiences remain central to the dispute.
Second-order effects
Developers that can direct users to web payments have a route to compete on price and retain more control over customer transactions, putting Apple’s App Store terms under greater commercial pressure.
Apple’s response shifts the contest from whether outside payments can be mentioned to what fees and conditions apply when transactions occur outside the App Store.
Third-order effects
If anti-steering remedies hold, mobile platform control is likely to be contested less through outright payment prohibition and more through the fees, disclosures, and rules governing off-platform transactions.
The trend: Mobile app-store regulation is moving from exclusive control of payments toward negotiated limits on how gatekeepers price and govern outside transactions.
@rileytestut @altstoreio Their fight is so big and so different that either side could try and weave small, independent projects into their narratives, but we're just not the targets. If a decision changes the outcome for indie projects, it will be as much coincidence as anything…
@tolik @stroughtonsmith Well, we were totally allowed to run our site they just made it very difficult which always really bothered me as I dedicated so much of my time and energy (arguably too much) evangelizing iOS gaming from the earliest days of the pre-jailbreak iPhone web g…
depressingly true 😔 increasingly seems the only way for indie developers to get what we want is to sue Apple ourselves...which lol I have no plans to do https://twitter.com/...
Seeing some people say Apple's court case with Epic Games has been embarrassing...for Apple. Genuinely confused by that statement. How? Still time to go, but nothing that has come from the trial has been *that* shocking regarding Apple.
Regardless of who wins Epic vs Apple, Apple's app review process and rules are as pleasant as getting your wisdom teeth removed while filing your taxes and listening to Fox News on the loudspeaker.
Alternatively, you could argue AltStore helps Epic's case by showing the extreme lengths developers go to just to distribute their apps — but Apple could (rightfully) respond that because AltStore *does* now exist, anyone can use it to distribute apps “easily,” including Epic
The upsetting part is: most well meaning developers experience the AppStore publishing process as a kick to the teeth Yet, Epic, during their honeymoon phase got the red carpet treatment from Apple- even when they were selling illegal lootboxes (the equivalent of e-crack)
Epic lawyer is coming back up, and we're going back to GameClub and its iOS service. “Do you remember from your report whether GameCloud's entry into iOS was smooth?” Athey says no — it was rejected more than 100 times, and it can only offer certain games.
@tolik @stroughtonsmith Store within a store forever. They eventually just starved us of resources so we could no longer afford to submit new builds of the app to the App Store to play the app design App Approval slot machine to see what changes we would need to make to be allowe…
Hasn't yet, and I doubt it will — technically @altstoreio helps Apple's case by countering Epic's argument there's no way to distribute apps besides the App Store...but Apple also wouldn't want to signal boost AltStore if they don't have to 🤷♂️ https://twitter.com/...
As a consumer, I love how easy it is to quickly & safely pay for new apps and manage all my subscriptions in one place via the App Store. I wouldn't have become a user for lots of companies if it weren't for Apple. Hate how I have to stay on top of other things not via the Store.
One really big conceptual issue in this trial is whether third-party iPhone apps are an extension of iOS and the App Store, or not. Apple clearly thinks of it all as belonging to Apple. Developers... do not
T-minus 10 until Day 8 of Epic v. Apple. More testimony from Epic expert witness Susan Athey, then Apple's first experts Richard Schmalensee and (possibly) Francine Lafontaine. Yesterday's stuff below: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
What I've enjoyed most about this case so far has been how targeted and meaningful her questions are. She's made reps from both sides squirm a little when she's asked thoughtful but undercutting questions. She's remarked about doing a lot of prep reading for this and it shows htt…
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has gained a reputation as a jurist not to be trifled with. Now, the tech world is waiting to hear the biggest pronouncement of her career when she makes her decision in #epicvapple. By @jacobgershman @timkhiggins https://www.wsj.com/...