And if no one wrote apps for iOS how many people would buy iPhones and iPads? Yes, it is a symbiotic relationship. But Apple has better position to negotiate, because it is as single entity, and have a lot more resources than the the other side. If all the app developers were able to organize and boycott apple, they might be able to force Apple to negotiate better terms. But that would probably result in many of the smaller companies going out of business, unless the boycott was very short lived.
> Your $100 does not cover it.
There are almost 2 million apps on the app store. Assuming there is roughly 1 developer license per app, (some developers will create multiple apps with a single license, but others will have multiple licenses to develop a single app), that is at least in the ballpark of "hundreds of millions on SWE". And that doesn't include revenue from selling the devices themselves.
So what? Shut down the App Store tomorrow, and forcibly delete all non-Apple-authored apps off of everyone's iPhones. Watch everyone flock to Android, no matter how much they claim to hate it. Watch Apple's stock drop into the toilet.
Apple needs all their third-party developers just as much as those developers need Apple -- more than at least some of those developers need Apple.
If the AppStore was shut down tomorrow, and all my apps forcibly removed: I'd keep using my iPhone with Safari. Might even become a better experience.
I'd need to save some short cuts for things like Google Maps, my banks, etc but that seems like all of the hassle.
I might miss the notifications (exclusively for the messaging apps - for all other apps I don't want them to have notifications) but otherwise, the biggest annoyance would be on the airplane I wouldn't have some pre-downloaded streaming content from apps like Netflix and Youtube.
I guess you do not really use your iPhone that much :)
For me removing non-Apple apps would render my phone useless: losing contact with my friends on WhatsApp and Signal, no way to call an Uber/taxi, no mobile authorization for my bank accounts, no MFA apps that I use for work...
You just proved your point wrong.
Hundreds of million is peanuts, and it’s very improbable that it covers anything near the HR costs of Apple’s App Store infrastructure and department.
> Your $100 does not cover it.
There are almost 2 million apps on the app store. Assuming there is roughly 1 developer license per app, (some developers will create multiple apps with a single license, but others will have multiple licenses to develop a single app), that is at least in the ballpark of "hundreds of millions on SWE". And that doesn't include revenue from selling the devices themselves.