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Ask HN: An Apple App Store strategy

1 points by cremnob ↗ HN
I've been an Apple shareholder for a while and I've been thinking about their iPhone/iPad business and the threat from Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, etc. Currently, an iOS competitive advantage is the large number of high quality apps in the App Store. However, this could change if iOS continues to slip in market share and developers focus their efforts on other platforms.

What if Apple allowed developers to enter into an agreement with them wherein Apple's cut of the revenue would be only 15% if their apps were exclusive to iOS? This would incentivize developers to focus their development on iOS which could be more profitable than having the app on multiple platforms (as far as I know iOS is still the better platform for monetizing apps). App Store revenue is an immaterial amount to Apple and it would likely be worth it to strengthen the moat around iOS.

My question is would such an arrangement be considered anti-competitive by regulators? I can't think of any precedents related to this other than exclusive games for PS3/Xbox 360, though I'm unsure if Sony or Microsoft does anything to incentivize it or if it's simply developer choice.

3 comments

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jdubray
Amazon has a 90 day exclusivity contract for books. But to be frank the gain in revenue would probably be never enough to make it viable.

The best way for Apple to achieve the outcome of attracting the best apps is to deliver the best Platform, which is increasingly questionable.

lsiebert
It's not an antitrust concern, n But those sort of deals, unless you are talking BIG developers,means additional expense for very limited benefits. Company A promises to make it's app exclusive to iOS... that means enforcement, monitoring other markets etc. For less money. And the marginal benefits in increased individual customer numbers probably isn't worth it. How many more people would buy an iPhone if Angry Birds was an iOS exclusive? Is the money you would make from them ofset not just by the lost revenue, but the uses that that revenue could be put (additional advertising, increased resources for developers, etc).

If Apple sees a company that it wants to make exclusive, it's better off just acquiring it. And that's just what it does. In fact, I expect to see at least a few companies that make goverement or enterprise software for iOS to be acquired in the coming year, because locking in institutional customers to a single platform IS a moneymaker.

michaelpinto
But there are already Apps that are exclusive to iOS: The ones that Apple already makes. In this sense Apple is doing (or trying to do) what Microsoft did with Windows and Office.

Sadly the other trend I see is that if a small shop makes a great app that they'll be purchased by Apple or Google or someone else. Of course there are entertainment and social media apps, but that world can change quickly so it's not worth an investment.