Steve Troughton-SmithJun 21, 2024

"iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence”

Apple's screen sharing being the only one with remote control is very clearly self-preferencing. iPhone Mirroring, though? Beats me. None of these actually hit upon DMA rules directly, so maybe Apple's just pulling out the dirty tricks to try to turn users against legislators. If they applied this imaginary criteria to all their existing software, they'd have to un-ship virtually everything
https://mastodon.social/@macrumors/112655635256850912

Show threadJohn GruberJun 21, 2024
@stroughtonsmith What do you expect when you enforce the “spirit”, rather than letter, of the law? The CTF doesn't violate the letter of the DMA either and Apple is going to get dinged for it.
Show threadNiléaneJun 21, 2024
@gruber @stroughtonsmith Come on, you know the CTF clearly violates the letter of the DMA. I don’t think there is any scenario in the context of this law where it's okay for Apple to charge developers who distribute their apps completely outside of the App Store.
Show threadJohn GruberJun 21, 2024
@nileane @stroughtonsmith I have read the entire DMA and I see nothing that says a gatekeeping platform can't charge for access to its platform. It targets only the way Apple has been doing so to date -- by allowing distribution exclusively through the App Store, and requiring all commerce through the App Store to use Apple's payments.
Show threadBret CarmichaelJun 21, 2024
@gruber @nileane @stroughtonsmith Three things can be true:
1) Apple is burning credibility and good will with developers.
2) Apple’s actions are compliant with the letter of DMA, but not its honest intent.
3) The DMA doesn’t specify the honest intent of regulators, because doing so is to tell Apple that it can’t charge for its intellectual property and profit from the AppStore, effectively nationalizing it.
Show threadScott F

@bretcarmichael @gruber @nileane @stroughtonsmith Didn’t Meta try this with Threads? “Oh, we can’t do the EU” then they did?

(Sorry in advance for the ramble)

The EU does try and solve problems to benefit their citizens just as Apple does for their users - and can have pros and cons as a result too - and I’d say, in general, in both cases, they mostly benefit the consumer. For every “irritating cookie warning”, there’s “domestic mobile roaming within the EU” and more (and the same applies to Apple).

The EU aren’t afraid to tell huge companies what to do (just as Apple isn’t with big “developers” like MS or Google).

As anyone commenting on the Apple ecosystem over the years has pointed out, there are problems that Apple needs to address (even if the answers aren’t simple and Apple aren’t addressing them unless forced to). But Apple - who aren’t afraid to play the parent’s “just because” card with developers, now find themselves in a bigger App Store that isn’t theirs to make the rules and the EU is just as willing to go “just because” too.

(I’m obviously pro-Apple, and pro-EU… I love the advantages of the Apple App Store…but also find it irritating as heck to have to go to the web to buy an ebook from Amazon when I have their app on my phone. I don’t see an immediate fix to this from the DMA… but can hope good answers can come from all this)

Jun 21, 2024 at 10:19pmWeb