Even a 5% fee is 5% too high; letting Apple tax all sales on iOS merely because they control the operating system is monopolistic.
this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2026
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No corporation wants unaided capitalism, that is way too even a playing field, that is virtually socialism. They want capitalism with quiet government aid but its not communism.
What kinda fucks me up - though I accept that I'm not a developer, so can't profess to fully understanding all of this - is that to make apps for Apple devices you have to have a relatively new Mac that can support a version of Xcode that can in turn support the latest version of iOS.
So you have to pay them £100 a year to be a registered developer. AND you have to shell out £1500 (minimum) every few years for a new Mac in order to stay current. And then they tell you have to throw them a tithe every time your app makes any money at all, even if you're not selling your app through the App Store, or using Apple's own payment systems.
That's triple dipping, right?
Only the £100 per year figure is true, just about everything else is false. You could get one of the best machines on the planet for £500 until the rampocalypse reached Apple, and it will last a decade or two. And you don’t need a Mac, just a computer.
That said, a 5% commission on non-apple store, non-apple payment processor purchases definitely is horseshit though. They explain it by saying they’re offsetting their cost to notarize other apps. A “responsibility” they gave themselves. I hope the EU one days decides to fight them on it
You can publish iOS apps without Xcode?
Yes. If you don’t have access to xcode there’s tools (free) and services (free up to a limit) that will do it for you
No?
What tools allow you to compile for the iPhone without Xcode? And what services are providing free… whatever you want to call that, since you can’t use Xcode without a Mac, and you can’t program in anything but Xcode for iPhone.
Unless you’re talking about PWA “apps” which are not in any way a native app, and are essentially just a webpage running in a safari container?
How about requiring Apple to provide an option for the device "owner" to disable Apple's "protections"? If I want to choose freedom over "security", I should have the option to do so. But the EU seems more interested in app signatures and app distribution through centralized channels controlled by the very same monopolists (as a similar approach can be observed on Android). But everything to protect the children, right?
If I want to choose freedom over "security", I should have the option to do so.
You can, but it's a careful sequence of steps.
- Discard, replace, and forever avoid anything apple. You controlling your device is really not their deal.
- Graphene on ... something
- This step intentionally left blank
Yeah, I understand (as an ex-GOS and current pmOS user). It just feels hypocritical to crutch on monopolies for "child protection", while in the same breath criticizing monopolistic practices... The EU should pick their poison