My problem has always been that Apple is both the gatekeeper and a competitor in its app store. I'd have a lot more trust in Apple as a consumer if they didn't offer up first party products such as Apple TV and Apple Arcade. It makes the shutdown of game streaming services seem particularly disingenuous.
The payments issue is more complex, but I can't get a metaphor to origins of monopoly law out of my head: If payments processing is like shipping around little bags of money, its like we have a railroad that controls half the market forcing exclusive transport contracts on manufacturers. It certainly FEELS wrong.
I think, ideally, Apple should be barred from offering first party services without providing a mechanism for third parties to receive the same treatment via a certification process. That means that other game stores could get access to that apple arcade button in the app store and that other payment processors could be used, so long as they met Apple's declared standards for privacy and security.
The payments issue is more complex, but I can't get a metaphor to origins of monopoly law out of my head: If payments processing is like shipping around little bags of money, its like we have a railroad that controls half the market forcing exclusive transport contracts on manufacturers. It certainly FEELS wrong.
I think, ideally, Apple should be barred from offering first party services without providing a mechanism for third parties to receive the same treatment via a certification process. That means that other game stores could get access to that apple arcade button in the app store and that other payment processors could be used, so long as they met Apple's declared standards for privacy and security.