Whether they made it clear isn’t really the issue, the issue is two-fold:
is it anti-competitive? If so, it’s an anti-trust issue
what does the user get in return? For a contract to be valid, it needs to benefit both parties
I answered the first below, so I’ll focus on the second here.
It doesn’t hurt anyone
Not having options always hurts competition, and that hurts the consumer.
For me, it comes down to the idea of ownership. Do you really own your device if you can’t install what you want on it? Do you really own your app if you can’t pick the payment processors you want to support?
I get the value in being able to lock your device down and block payment processors you don’t trust, but that should be up to the user or the IT dept at your org. To truly own your device you need to be able to make those choices.
Here’s what I think is reasonable:
Apple requires apps to include Apple Pay (or whatever) as a payment processor if they release through the App Store
devices ship “locked down” by default, with the option to allow third party app stores if the user chooses; this should be presented as an option on first boot or if the options there changes
Apple should not be able to force app devs to use a particular payment processor for in-app purchases, though Apple can deny an app for not charging enough at purchase time
To me, that sounds competitive, respects the idea of ownership, and still gives Apple the high likelihood of continuing to make money hand over fist because most people won’t change the default.
Whether they made it clear isn’t really the issue, the issue is two-fold:
I answered the first below, so I’ll focus on the second here.
Not having options always hurts competition, and that hurts the consumer.
For me, it comes down to the idea of ownership. Do you really own your device if you can’t install what you want on it? Do you really own your app if you can’t pick the payment processors you want to support?
I get the value in being able to lock your device down and block payment processors you don’t trust, but that should be up to the user or the IT dept at your org. To truly own your device you need to be able to make those choices.
Here’s what I think is reasonable:
To me, that sounds competitive, respects the idea of ownership, and still gives Apple the high likelihood of continuing to make money hand over fist because most people won’t change the default.