As we all know, Musk and Apple have never dealt with each other much, and the grudge between them also has a relationship. Musk himself exposed that in the darkest moment of Tesla's Model 3 project, Musk once had a break in funds and almost couldn't hold on. At this point, he hoped that Apple could buy Tesla at a low price. After all, Apple poached a large number of Tesla employees and was clearly interested in electric cars.
Note that musk's price at the time was very sincere, only one-tenth of Tesla's current market capitalization. However, although Musk has lowered his stance towards Apple. However, Tim Cook is very cold, and he is not even willing to participate in the meeting, and does not give Musk a chance to meet at all, which is clearly very unoptimistic about Model 3. Cook's indifference has plunged Musk into a big thinking about life.
Recently, it can be said that Apple's eventful autumn, the anti-monopoly heavy fist fell again and again. With the European Union launching antitrust charges against Apple, Musk has found another opportunity to intimidate Apple. He claims that the App Store's up to 30 percent app cut is essentially a 30 percent tax on the entire internet, which is ten times higher than a reasonable price.
Musk's sentence is very large, and the words used are also very heavy. In theory, Apple is not "taxing the entire Internet", but on the share of the iOS system in the mobile Internet. According to StockApps statistics, iOS's share of the global mobile operating system market is 25.49%, which is equivalent to one in four people having to "pay taxes" to Apple.
According to Musk, it is unreasonable for the App Store as an app distribution platform to charge up to 30% of the app's commission. Because Apple only provides a platform to download app, and Internet manufacturers are responsible for development, maintenance, and operation, but they have to pay 30% of Apple's share. At par value, the App Store only offers distribution services, and a 3% tax is at most.
Of course, APP developers are not philanthropists, voluntarily giving Apple a 30% cut. If it weren't for the fact that iOS is a closed-loop system, and iOS can only download apps through the App Store, developers have no choice, and Apple is not eligible to take 30% of the share. In the final analysis, the essence of the "Apple tax" is the high income brought by monopoly - this is the fundamental reason why Apple does not allow "application sideloading".
Many fruit fans will say that although Apple is high, the ecology created by the App Store is unmatched in the industry. The question is, the App Store does provide a good ecosystem for consumers, but is it worth paying us 30% Apple tax? I have a few words to say.
First of all, let's understand that the "Apple tax" refers specifically to a fee on virtual products. Compared with hardware, virtual products have a feature: the quantity is easy to copy, the marginal cost is close to zero, and the cost of selling 1 part and selling 1000 copies is not much different.
APP developers are also aiming at this point, and they are willing to enter the iOS platform under the premise that Apple takes away 30% of the share. No matter how many copies of the software are sold, the development cost is the same. Who let Apple have a huge number of high-net-worth users? It can only be said that there is an alliance of interests between Apple and APP developers, one willing to fight, one willing to suffer.
My personal view is this: Apple should reduce the commission for small and medium-sized app developers, or set a certain bonus to encourage independent developers to develop products. At the same time, the free apps of internet giants should reduce their commissions, because their success has nothing to do with Apple. What do you think about this, welcome to discuss together.