Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek today spoke out against Apple's App Store policies, joining Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who earlier this week said that Apple was making moderation demands and had threatened to withhold Twitter from the App Store.
At The New York TimesDealBook Summit, Zuckerberg said that only Apple attempts to limit the apps that are in the App Store, and that the App Store policies are not sustainable. As noted by CNBC, Zuckerberg claimed that Apple has "singled themselves out as the only company that is trying to control unilaterally what apps get on a device," which is not a "good place to be."
Zuckerberg went on to praise Google for allowing for alternate content on Android phones. "They’ve always made it so you can sideload and have other app stores and work directly with phone manufacturers," said Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg has clashed with Apple several times over App Store rules, specifically around various purchases that can be made in the Facebook app. Apple wants a 30 percent cut of things like in-app boosts, which Facebook does not want to pay.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, meanwhile, made comments on Twitter claiming that Apple gives developers "the illusion of control," and that the App Store is a "threat to the future of the internet" that denies consumers choice.
So how much longer will we look away from this threat to the future of the internet? How many more consumers will be denied choice? There’s been a lot of talk. Talk is helpful but we need action. @CommerceGov@EU_Commission@vestager
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) November 30, 2022
Ek has clashed with Apple recently over Spotify's new audiobooks feature. Apple rejected Spotify's audiobook update several times and ultimately did not allow Spotify to direct users to purchase audiobooks through an in-app email signup button.
Ek and Zuckerberg are longtime Apple critics and have been encouraging lawmakers to force Apple to support alternative app stores on iOS devices to reduce fees. Multiple bipartisan bills have been introduced in the U.S., and if these are ultimately passed, Apple would need to make significant App Store changes.
My rule of thumb is that if Mark Z. says something is bad, it's probably actually good. And thank god MR actually restrained itself from putting up yet another Sweaty Mark Photo to illustrate this article!
Whatever. Jealous people who can’t do it themselves. It’s not a crime that people have to pay for what Apple provides. These people are greedy and selfish. And none of us should give a damn what they think.
I’m all up for side loading but I know the truth is that Facebook will immediately require users to side load their app which has every shady data mining feature turned on if you want to use their service
Wednesday January 25, 2023 9:40 am PST by Joe Rossignol
After announcing new Mac and HomePod models last week, Apple adjusted its trade-in values for select devices in the United States.
iPhone trade-in values decreased by up to $80, and most Android smartphones also went down. Mac trade-in values remained unchanged or increased by up to $40 depending on the model, while some Apple Watch models increased in value and others decreased. Trade-in...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 4:53 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected to be announced in September as usual. Already, rumors suggest the devices will have at least seven exclusive features not available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
An overview of the seven features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 1:11 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous-generation model with the M1 chip and 256GB of storage.
A teardown of the new Mac mini shared by YouTube channel Brandon Geekabit reveals that the 256GB model is equipped with only a single 256GB storage chip, while the...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released tvOS 16.3, the third major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that originally came out in September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.3 comes six weeks after tvOS 16.2, an update that added Apple Music Sing.
The tvOS 16.3 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software...
Monday January 23, 2023 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 9.3, the third major update to the watchOS 9 operating system that first launched in September. watchOS 9.3 comes over a month after watchOS 9.2, an update that added new Workout functionality and Crash Detection optimizations.
watchOS 9.3 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. ...
Friday January 20, 2023 11:43 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.3 will be released to the public next week. The software update will be available for the iPhone 8 and newer and includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes.
Below, we've recapped bigger features in iOS 16.3, including support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for Apple ID accounts, worldwide ...
Tuesday January 24, 2023 1:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
The new M2-series MacBook Pro and Mac mini models launched today, marking the debut of the first M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We have the M2 Pro Mac mini on hand, and thought we'd take a look at the machine and do a series of benchmarks to see how it fits into Apple's lineup.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Base model Mac mini machines come with either an M2 or M2 Pro...
Monday January 23, 2023 10:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Ventura 13.2, the second major update to the macOS Ventura operating system initially released in October. macOS Ventura 13.2 comes more than a month after macOS Ventura 13.1, an update that added the Freeform app and other changes.
The macOS Ventura 13.2 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
Top Rated Comments
How about coming up with your own platform?