> Apple just doesn’t care about its third-party developers
I think Apple simply cares more about end users than third-party developers. Third-party developers are a means to an end (selling more hardware), not an end themselves (except insofar as developers are also users). I don't think that means that Apple as a company doesn't care about third-party developers. I think they clearly do. I just think they tend to side with users when there is a choice of making one group happy over the other. You can see this with new OS versions (faster deprecation cycles, api changes, etc). Contrast with companies you tend to think of that favor keeping third-party developers (and companies) happy over users.
There is always a balance I think. The author even notes the "UDID Fiasco"[1]. This sure was a pain from an ad network point of view (it sure did make for a rough week at $dayjob), but as a consumer I was pleased. It was a while coming too, so it isn't like it was a surprise.
[1]: The author of the article appears to work for chartboost, which runs a mobile ad network.
Completely agree. This might explain why Apple didn't act on some of the "issues" raised by the OP:
- "Junk Apps": As someone mentioned below, this one's really unreasonable. "Junk" is subjective, and even if it's not, who's to decide which app should be removed?
- "[App Reviews] are nearly always of terrible quality": Again, what is Apple supposed to do here? Let the developers chose which reviews should be displayed for their apps? Impose a minimum number of characters for a review? Non of this makes much sense to me.
- "Ringtone Apps": I really, really don't get this one. Maybe it makes sense from a developer point of view, but for a user point of view, I don't see what's wrong with apps prices decreasing.
- "Customer Data is hidden": Uh? As a consumer, I'm happy about this one.
Concerning the App Review paragraph, I can't say much, except that the complaints seem more reasonable.
Anyway, I can understand the OP's opinion, but I think it's unfair to say that Apple doesn't care about developers. They probably care about developers (they do realize that the app store and app developers are central to the iphone's succes), but they care more about end users. And if they have to make a choice, they'd probably try to satisfy consumers over developers.
Not carrying about third-party developers directly hurts end-users, so I don't follow this logic.
Third-party developers are a means to an end
(selling more hardware)
That's not related to the other point you made. Keeping end-users happy is also about selling more hardware.
I don't think that means that Apple as a company
doesn't care about third-party developers
Well of course there are shades of gray, as always.
I just think they tend to side with users when
there is a choice of making one group happy over the
other
I don't see a conflict between end-users and developers in regards to the points raised in the article, except maybe the UDID deprecation.
Would it hurt end-users in any way if the developers were able to reply to their reviews? Would it hurt end-users if the developers were able to push paid upgrades instead of having to create different apps?
Many, I dare say even the vast majority, of the problems with Apple's App Store are not cases where Apple has favored users over developers, but rather cases where fixing the problem would help both users and developers. Thus, IMO, this idea that it's all because Apple cares more about the users simply does not fly.
I think Apple simply cares more about end users than third-party developers. Third-party developers are a means to an end (selling more hardware), not an end themselves (except insofar as developers are also users). I don't think that means that Apple as a company doesn't care about third-party developers. I think they clearly do. I just think they tend to side with users when there is a choice of making one group happy over the other. You can see this with new OS versions (faster deprecation cycles, api changes, etc). Contrast with companies you tend to think of that favor keeping third-party developers (and companies) happy over users.
There is always a balance I think. The author even notes the "UDID Fiasco"[1]. This sure was a pain from an ad network point of view (it sure did make for a rough week at $dayjob), but as a consumer I was pleased. It was a while coming too, so it isn't like it was a surprise.
[1]: The author of the article appears to work for chartboost, which runs a mobile ad network.