But when you're forced to choose the App Store over the many many alternative .ipa distributors, it's perfectly logical and fair?

Android is a hardware alternative - Apple needs upward pressure to make their services competitive. If you use a Mac this is already obvious, you can't buy industry-standard software on the App Store. They all avoid it like the plague when given the opportunity, and Apple deliberately closes this escape hatch on iOS. Apple has known the App Store isn't good enough for over a decade.

It is an arbitrary and deliberate protectionist monopoly of app distribution. How many trophies does Tim Apple need to give Trump before people get the hint?

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stalfosknight 19 hours ago | parent [-]

The App Store is an integrated component of the iPhone experience.

It's perfectly fine to have different preferences but doesn't mean you get to meddle in the UI/UX of something you didn't create. If you really want to sideload, that's what Android is for.

	▲	error503 17 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		And when Android follows Apple's lead, then what? The consumer harm is obvious. Whether you call it a "monopoly" or something else, it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
	▲	bigyabai 17 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> The App Store is an integrated component of the iPhone experience. It's an App Store. The .IPA is an integrated component of the iPhone experience, the App Store is an optional storefront. Again, look at the Mac. You're repeating the same limp defenses that Apple has already watched get torn down by the EU and Japanese courts. We've solidly moved onto the "beg Trump for help" phase, which is miles worse than the humiliation of allowing sideloading. Do you still want to know why they're putting ads into the only integrated storefront on iOS? It's real simple from where I'm standing.