蘋果app store水軍_蘋果終止App Store開發者反叛的解決方案

蘋果app store水軍

In recent weeks, numerous companies have complained about Apple and its App Store practices. Microsoft, Facebook, the Wall Street Journal, Basecamp, and Epic games are all on the list. Beyond that, Apple is facing an investigation both from the European Union and the US House Judiciary Committee.

在最近幾周，許多公司都在抱怨蘋果及其App Store的做法。 微軟 ， Facebook ， 華爾街日報 ， Basecamp和Epic遊戲都在清單中。 除此之外，蘋果還面臨歐盟和美國衆議院司法委員會的調查 。

對于蘋果公司來說，這是一個緊要關頭。 (For Apple, it’s a tight spot to be right now.)

問題 (The problem)

One of the problems these companies are highlighting that not all developers are treated equally in Apple’s ecosystem. Sometimes, Apple is making exclusive deals; other times, they’re favoring their own apps over direct competitors.

這些公司強調的問題之一是，在蘋果的生态系統中，并非所有開發人員都受到同等對待。 有時， 蘋果公司會進行獨家交易 ； 其他時候， 他們更喜歡自己的應用，而不是直接競争對手。

The second, maybe even more significant concern is how much money Apple keeps from every financial transaction that comes through the App Store. While the 30% cut became somewhat of an industry-standard over the years, it’s still being challenged as too high compared to the service developers receive for the price.

第二個，甚至更重要的問題是，蘋果通過App Store進行的每筆金融交易都可以賺多少錢。 雖然這些年來30％的降價已成為某種行業标準，但與開發商以價格獲得的服務相比，降價幅度仍然過高。

For the second point, Apple is arguing that the 30% cut is more than fair. Besides, they state that the vast amount of iOS apps are actually free, which means that they don’t collect any money from most creators.

對于第二點，蘋果認為30％的削減是不公平的。 此外，他們指出，大量的iOS應用程式實際上是免費的，這意味着它們沒有從大多數創作者那裡收取任何錢。

“…when we entered the app store market, the cost of distributing software was 50% to 70%; so we took the rate in half to 30%, and held it over time…” — Apple CEO Tim Cook at a recent U.S. Congress hearing

“……當我們進入應用商店市場時，分發軟體的成本為50％至70％； 是以我們将利率提高到30％的一半，并随着時間的推移一直保持下去……” –蘋果首席執行官蒂姆·庫克(Tim Cook)在美國國會最近的一次聽證會上

Interestingly, the argument about how the minority contributes to everyone’s advantage is a critique also said about tax systems.

有趣的是，關于少數群體如何為每個人的利益做出貢獻的争論也對稅收制度提出了批評。

The general idea of a country’s tax system is to collect a percentage of the wealth from residents in order to provide essential services for all. For Apple, it’s a very similar problem: less than half of the developers pay the bill for everyone.

一個國家稅收制度的總體思路是從居民那裡收集一定比例的财富，以便為所有人提供基本服務。 對于蘋果公司來說，這是一個非常相似的問題：不到一半的開發人員為所有人支付費用。

是以，如果這很像一種稅收制度，為什麼不能像一個稅收制度那樣固定呢？ (So if it’s a lot like a tax system, why cannot it be fixed like one?)

蘋果與競争 (Apple and the competition)

Countries usually don’t compete with the services of the free market. On the contrary, Apple lock horns with a lot of other companies. At the same time, those companies are forced to work with Apple for distribution.

國家通常不與自由市場的服務競争。 相反，蘋果與許多其他公司争吵。 同時，這些公司被迫與蘋果合作進行發行。

It’s like from one day to another, your supplier would also become your competitor, but you would be forced to stay with the partner. On some level, it has to be the definition of ‘biased’.

就像從一天到一天，您的供應商也将成為您的競争對手，但是您将不得不與合作夥伴呆在一起。 在某種程度上，它必須是“偏見”的定義。

This situation comes from the fact that in recent years, Apple has started to put more focus on its services business. At the time of writing, the iPhone company makes the following digital products available for its users:

這種情況來自這樣一個事實，即近年來，蘋果公司已開始更加關注其服務業務。 在撰寫本文時，iPhone公司為使用者提供了以下數字産品：

• On-demand music and radio streaming: Apple Music

  點播音樂和廣播流： Apple Music

• TV-show and movie streaming: Apple TV+

  電視節目和電影流： Apple TV +

• Gaming subscription: Apple Arcade

  遊戲訂閱： Apple Arcade

• Magazine and newspaper subscriptions: Apple News+

  雜志和報紙訂閱： Apple News +

• Cloud storage and backup: iCloud

  雲存儲和備份： iCloud

In addition, Apple is rumored to launch virtual fitness classes soon, entering the competitive game with Nike, Peloton, and others.

此外，有傳言稱蘋果将很快推出虛拟健身課程 ，并與耐克，佩洛頓和其他公司一起進入競争性遊戲。

The complication with Apple’s practices that they force developers to loop their transactions through the company’s own payment system. That means they take a cut from all app purchases, in-app purchases, and subscriptions.

與蘋果公司的做法複雜的是，他們強迫開發人員通過公司自己的支付系統進行交易。 這意味着他們減少了所有應用程式購買，應用程式内購買和訂閱的費用。

This cut is 30%, and developers don’t get to negotiate. For some apps, there are workarounds, but it doesn’t work for everybody, and on top, results in a suboptimal user experience.

削減幅度為30％，開發人員無需談判。 對于某些應用程式，有一些變通辦法 ，但并非所有人都可以使用，最重要的是，這會導緻次優的使用者體驗。

The approach and the 30% cut would still be justifiable if Apple would prove that this revenue is needed to operate the App Store. But it’s not the case. In 2019, the company profited around $15 billion, just for curating and distributing apps in the App Store. On top of that, Apple’s apps are not subject to the same revenue tax as others.

如果蘋果公司證明營運App Store需要此收入，那麼該方法和30％的削減仍然是合理的。 但事實并非如此。 2019年， 該公司僅在App Store中策劃和分發應用程式便獲利約150億美元 。 最重要的是，Apple的應用與其他應用無需繳納相同的所得稅。

So that sad truth, that companies competing with Apple’s existing services has 30% less chance to be financially successful. And that would plainly put the competing company at a permanent disadvantage, if they would like to distribute their apps on iOS. It’s a biased game.

是以，與蘋果現有服務競争的公司獲得财務成功的機會要少30％。 如果他們想在iOS上釋出其應用程式，那麼這無疑将使該競争公司處于永久劣勢。 這是一個有偏見的遊戲。

對于開發人員而言，App Store稅制已被打破。 (For developers, the App Store tax system is broken.)

為什麼壞了？ (Why is it broken?)

For Apple, the App Store business model is working flawlessly. The company makes well enough to keep up the servers, pay people for vetting apps, and curate the content. Moreover, last year proved again that they also get to keep a hefty profit.

對于蘋果公司而言，App Store商業模式運作良好。 該公司做得足夠好，可以保持伺服器的正常運作，為稽核應用程式而付錢給人并策劃内容。 此外，去年再次證明，他們也獲得了豐厚的利潤。

For developers, the system is broken. Less than half of all apps contain any paid features, and there are close to 1.9 million apps in the App Store. The minority is paying the bill to Apple for everyone, and they’re paying a big chunk of their revenue.

對于開發人員來說，系統已損壞。 不到一半的應用程式包含任何付費功能，并且App Store中有将近190萬個應用程式。 少數派為所有人支付了賬單，而他們卻付出了很大一部分收入。

Beyond paid features, there is another part of the financial equation that people often forget. Free apps usually come preloaded with advertisements, which also generates money for developers. These ads are coming from one of the mobile ad networks, from which Google’s AdMob is the most famous.

除了付費功能外，人們經常會忘記财務方程式的另一部分。 免費應用程式通常預裝有廣告，這也為開發人員帶來了收益。 這些廣告都來自移動廣告網絡，從其中一個未來谷歌的AdMob廣告是最有名的。

The money earned this way stays with the ad network operator and the developer, so Apple, as a marketplace owner, does not benefit from it.

通過這種方式獲得的收入将留給廣告網絡營運商和開發人員，是以作為市場所有者的蘋果無法從中受益。

如果是這種情況，前進的方向是什麼？ (If that’s the situation, what is the way forward?)

一種建議的解決方案 (One proposed solution)

Understandably, as every for-profit company, Apple also wants to keep its cash cow going on without drastic changes. That’s why they opposed the request of many developers in the past months who were seeking to challenge the App Store practices. Now, more prominent corporations are starting to join forces, and Apple needs to handle the situation somehow.

可以了解，作為每家營利性公司，蘋果公司還希望保持其搖錢樹，而無需進行大幅度改變。 這就是為什麼他們在過去的幾個月中拒絕了許多尋求挑戰App Store做法的開發人員的要求。 現在，越來越多的知名公司開始聯合起來，蘋果需要以某種方式應對這種情況。

There are multiple choices the iPhone company could take. Anything it does will likely have repercussions on other marketplace owners. An ideal solution has at least two requirements:

iPhone公司可以選擇多種選擇。 它所做的任何事情都可能會對其他市場所有者産生影響。 理想的解決方案至少具有兩個要求：

• First, it needs to satisfy the developers who are rebelling against the App Store tax system and provide an alternative to the current practices.

  首先，它需要滿足那些反對App Store稅制的開發人員的需求，并提供一種替代目前做法的方法。

• Second, it needs to offer standard conditions for everyone that do not favor any company over the other.

  其次，它需要為每個不贊成任何一家公司的所有人提供标準條件。

Although it’s just one idea from the possible many, here is my proposal.

雖然這隻是可能的一個主意，但這是我的建議。

1.将所有付費交易的30％降價幅度降低到10％ (1. Reduce the 30% cut to 10% for all paid transactions)

Reduce the current commission to 10% for all transactions, including paid apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions. For subscriptions, continue to take the same 10% after the second year.

将所有交易(包括付費應用，應用内購買和訂閱)的目前傭金降低到10％。 對于訂閱，第二年後繼續保持相同的10％。

For comparison, credit card issuers, card networks, and payment processors together take between 2.87–4.35% for all financial transactions. Of course, it’s all built-in to the consumer prices, but this is the tax they take for operating a global payment network.

相比之下，信用卡發夾行，卡網絡和付款處理商在所有金融交易中的費用總計為2.87-4.35％ 。 當然，它們全都内置在消費者價格中，但這是他們營運全球支付網絡所要繳納的稅款。

Also, since 2008, when Apple introduced the App Store, the cost of technology has decreased. Today, it’s cheaper to host applications, provide bandwidth, or build a reliable digital service.

另外，自2008年蘋果公司推出App Store以來，技術成本已經下降。 如今，托管應用程式，提供帶寬或建構可靠的數字服務變得更加便宜。

Lastly, if in 2008, a developer paid $3 contribution to Apple for an app that cost $10, then its inflation-adjusted commission would be $3.7 today. That means that the price of distribution not just stagnated but increased.

最後，如果在2008年，開發人員向Apple支付了3美元，購買了一款價格為10美元的應用，那麼今天經通貨膨脹因素調整後的傭金為3.7美元。 這意味着分銷價格不僅停滞不前，而且上漲了。

2.讓蘋果自己繳稅 (2. Make Apple pay its own taxes)

As discussed before, Apple’s services are not subject to the same App Store commission as others. If the company were forced to waive the same percentage as the rest, it would create a fair, competitive environment.

如前所述，Apple的服務不受其他App Store的委托。 如果公司被迫放棄與其他公司相同的百分比，則将創造一個公平，競争性的環境。

As one idea, Apple could re-distribute their own 10% among all creators. This move would guarantee that any competing service would have the same capability for success as Apple itself, at least financially.

作為一個想法，蘋果公司可以在所有創作者中重新配置設定自己的10％。 此舉将確定任何競争性服務至少在财務上具有與Apple本身相同的成功能力。

3.如果需要，請所有開發人員做出貢獻 (3. If needed, make all developers contribute)

Operating a marketplace has its costs, like hosting and curating applications. By making every app pay for its listing in the App Store (even if it’s a free app), Apple could more proportionally distribute its operation costs.

經營市場有其成本，例如托管和管理應用程式。 通過讓每個應用程式支付其在App Store中的上市費用(即使它是免費應用程式)，Apple可以按比例配置設定其營運成本。

Free apps often still earn money through advertising, but Apple is usually not taking any commission out of this. By setting transparent standards on how much it costs to be distributed on iOS, the iPhone company could make all developers pay a small fee for being featured in the App Store.

免費應用程式仍然經常通過廣告賺錢，但是蘋果公​​司通常不從中收取任何傭金。 通過為在iOS上分發多少費用設定透明的标準，iPhone公司可以使所有開發人員為在App Store中進行展示而支付少量費用。

This move could further decrease the 10% commission for paid transactions in apps if Apple were willing to act as a hosting provider.

如果蘋果願意充當托管服務提供商，此舉可進一步降低應用程式中付費交易的10％傭金。

是以現在，蘋果需要決定他們如何塑造未來。 (So now, Apple needs to decide how they’re shaping the future.)

蘋果的情況 (The situation for Apple)

Apple is in an uncomfortable situation right now.

蘋果目前處境不佳。

In the eyes of customers, Apple is the highest-rated personal computer company, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

在客戶眼中，根據美國客戶滿意度指數，蘋果是獲得最高評價的個人計算機公司 。

In the eyes of developers, Apple is a necessary evil required for being present on 24,82% of all mobile devices.

在開發人員看來，蘋果是出現在所有移動裝置中的24.82％所必需的邪惡手段 。

Inspired by how 9to5mac put it in regards to the Apple vs. Epic battle, the current situation has three possible outcomes, and most of them are not good news for Apple.

受9to5mac如何對待Apple與Epic之戰的啟發，目前的情況可能産生三種結果，其中大多數對蘋果而言不是好消息。

• Apple will continue to cut exclusive deals with big publishers, bending more on its “standard terms for all” promise. Apple wins, and they are not forced to change their current practices.

  蘋果将​​繼續削減與大型發行商的獨家交易，更多地履行其“所有人的标準條款”的承諾。 蘋果公司獲勝 ，他們沒有被迫改變目前的做法。

• Enough developers will raise their voices against the company to make them rethink their App Store business model. Apple loses, but they can make changes in their own terms, before any official decree forces them.

  足夠多的開發人員将對公司發出聲音，以使他們重新考慮其App Store業務模型。 蘋果公司敗訴 ，但在任何正式法令強迫他們采取行動之前，他們可以按照自己的意願進行更改。

• As a consequence of current investigations, the company is forced to make specific changes in how they operate. Apple loses, and they might be compelled to change more than just their App Store practices.

  由于目前的調查，該公司被迫對其運作方式進行特定的更改。 蘋果輸了 ，他們可能被迫做出改變，而不僅僅是他們在App Store中的做法。

The situation above does not only concern Apple, but other marketplace owners as well, like Google, Samsung, or Amazon.

上述情況不僅涉及蘋果公司，還涉及其他市場所有者，例如Google，三星或亞馬遜。

In the coming months, we’ll see how much power developers have over their landlords, and if those companies will be forced to change the way they operate.

在接下來的幾個月中，我們将看到開發商擁有多少擁有權力的開發商，以及這些公司是否将被迫改變其營運方式。

翻譯自: https://blog.prototypr.io/apple-app-store-rebellion-9a66cbf24368

蘋果app store水軍