I think a lot of the takes on this are coming at it from the wrong angle - "Why does Apple deserve a third of app revenue?"
What if we flip it to: "Why do app developers deserve access to Apple's customers?"
30% is the price to access Apple's customers.
If you're a developer and don't like this, then don't build an iOS app. Build Android-only, or build a web app.
If you're a customer and don't like this, then don't buy an iPhone. Vote with your feet. Buy an Android. Or a Pinephone/Fairphone/Librem which are as close to a general purpose computer-as-a-phone outside of the Apple-Google duopoly that there is at the current time.
I understand that the value of the Apple ecosystem is not just what Apple bring to the table. It's the ecosphere of apps available. So there's definitely a symbiosis here. But Apple is like China here. No matter how ethically questionable, there will always be those for whom the market that Apple represents is too tempting to ignore. Even with a 30% cost of doing business. Meaning there will always be app developers building apps for iOS.
What if we flip it to: "Why do app developers deserve access to Apple's customers?"
30% is the price to access Apple's customers.
If you're a developer and don't like this, then don't build an iOS app. Build Android-only, or build a web app.
If you're a customer and don't like this, then don't buy an iPhone. Vote with your feet. Buy an Android. Or a Pinephone/Fairphone/Librem which are as close to a general purpose computer-as-a-phone outside of the Apple-Google duopoly that there is at the current time.
I understand that the value of the Apple ecosystem is not just what Apple bring to the table. It's the ecosphere of apps available. So there's definitely a symbiosis here. But Apple is like China here. No matter how ethically questionable, there will always be those for whom the market that Apple represents is too tempting to ignore. Even with a 30% cost of doing business. Meaning there will always be app developers building apps for iOS.