But the reverse is true. If there were only Android like phones, with shitty malware, and battery issues, and fifty different app stores for any given genre, and Apple launched the iPhone, millions would jump ship to Apple.
Of course not. Not immediately. Just like you wouldn’t move cities if the police announced they’d no longer enforce traffic laws or investigate/attempt to prevent gun violence.
Then after the homicide rate doubles, there’s shootings almost daily, and you can’t get from point A to point B without a reckless driver risking your life, you might get stressed.
At first you’d consider moving to the suburb, but you can’t, because Epic’s lawsuit applied internationally and nationally, so actually no community is allowed to police itself in any way (Epic also sued Google for Google Play and I really don’t get why no one on HN is capable of remembering or considering that). And then you’d think, “if I can get murdered here or I could get murdered there, might as well save on rent”. And so, Epic has succeeded in destroying a large part of what makes the iPhone unique.
Lets assume Apple is forced to allow alternate app stores:
I'm [insert big company e.g. Microsoft], why should I put [insert popular app e.g. Office] on the Apple App Store when I have to give 30% revenue and deal with Apple's privacy rules etc.? From now on if users want [insert popular app e.g. Office] on iOS they will have to download it from our store.
All of a sudden every big company/popular app will have their own store with (likely) worse privacy and security standards. If I'm in Apple's ecosystem but want to use [insert popular app e.g. Office] I'll have to accept these lower standards or not use the app.
Which is why it's good for competition: Now Apple App Store has to compete with other app's own stores for pricing. Otherwise what if Apple decided to start charging 50%? or 80%?
That's why this is an anti-trust suit, because Apple is stifling competition.
This is a concern but even big companies have a strong incentive to remain in the App Store because it is bundled with iOS. For example, Microsoft Office is still available in the Play Store despite the possibility for Android users to install alternative app stores. Some developers will leave the App Store for alternatives that do not offer the same level of user protection, but I do not think a huge exodus will happen, considering that it has not happened on Android.
We don’t know if that’s true because Google was also sued for Play’s unfair practices.
It’s not just that iOS will be like Android, it’s that Epic is trying to force Android to be even more of a Wild West than that. Epic wants to give Microsoft the power to force me to download Teams & Office exclusively via the Microsoft Store on Android and iOS.
