As global recession deepens we’re wondering if Apple is asking a little too much of its loyal user-base with its proprietary peripherals, steep upgrade costs and restrictive T&Cs – APPLE RESPONSE UPDATE
The success of Apple’s iTunes and more recently the app store is undeniable and with more than 17 million iPhones sold worldwide the weight that it carries is significant; however, there are rumblings afoot amongst the app development community concerning term 6.3 in the Apple developer’s agreement.
The section states;
"In the event that Apple receives any notice or claim from any end-user that: (i) the end-user wishes to cancel its license to any of the Licensed Applications within ninety (90) days of the date of download of that Licensed Application by that end-user; or (ii) a Licensed Application fails to conform to Your specifications or Your product warranty or the requirements of any applicable law, Apple may refund to the end-user the full amount of the price paid by the end-user for that Licensed Application. In the event that Apple refunds any such price to an end-user, You shall reimburse, or grant Apple a credit for, an amount equal to the price for that Licensed Application. Apple will have the right to retain its commission on the sale of that Licensed Application, notwithstanding the refund of the price to the end-user."
Now what this basically equates to is that, should Apple choose, it can force developers to refund the full 100% of the app price despite the fact that they only received 70% of the sale in the first instance. Umm, does that sound fair?
More than that, purchasers will have up to 90 days from downloading the application to ask for a refund - let us ask you a question, hands up how many of you have downloaded an app and found that a full 3 months later you no longer used it? I’m willing to bet that there are a fair few hands in the air right now. Will Apple really be forcing developers to issue full refunds for apps that people have gotten bored of using a couple of months down the line?
Surely a better idea would be to implement a demo system whereby users can download a fully functional trial on a limited basis, or even a restricted functionality version thereby allowing them to fairly evaluate the product but avoiding the fear of developers going bust over one bad app.
We can see that term 6.3 was probably designed to encourage app developers to create better, more innovative products but we can’t help but feel that Apple is simply commanding unfair terms over its developers because of its market clout; 17 million people is an awfully large captive audience, and if you take iPod Touch devices into account then the number is closer to 30 million. With figures like these we’d imagine that there still won’t be too many developers that feel they can afford to walk away from the single biggest marketplace for mobile apps regardless of term 6.3.
Apple products have an image of being well-made and reliable beyond their unbelievably sleek exteriors so it’s no surprise that as a company it has gone from strength to strength in the last decade.
This achievement is in no small part down to the impressive product family that it has created which encourages the purchase of add-ons and accessories. It’s a smart move creating devices that all work together so well. If you have an Apple desktop and a Powerbook Pro then surely it makes perfect sense to get an iPhone too. But then Apple charge these very same customers £58 a year to synchronise data between the devices using the MobileMe service.
It’s a similar story with peripherals, upgrades and repair costs too. Apple is well known for using proprietary connections and including "hidden" hardware functionality to be unlocked at a date of its choosing. Seemingly though these things are acceptable to consumers as the sheer popularity of the Apple products is testament to, but we’re a little disheartened that Apple are choosing to squeeze every last penny out of its most loyal supporters.
It goes without saying that the planned proprietary connector for the new iPod doesn’t please us too much either, it’s just another example of Apple maximising revenue through control of customer’s choices.
Perhaps the thing to remember is that underneath the "creative" and "kooky" brand image that Apple has spent millions creating lies the same motivation as every other global corporation; to make money, and whilst there is nothing wrong with that we think that nickel-and-diming its customers in this economic climate is a step too far, no matter how "cool" the iProduct may be.
UPDATE:
Apple has attempted to reassure developers that refunds will only be issued if products aren’t delivered successfully or in a timely manner. Speaking to CNET an Apple rep said “when a refund is granted on a purchase made through the App Store, Apple returns the customer’s money and debits the developer’s account by 70 percent of the application price, or the revenue the developer had gained on the sale. The company does not charge the developer an additional 30 percent during the refund process.”
So there we go, that’s cleared that little bone of contention up, now all we need is confirmation that moving the inline controls on the new iPod is all nonsense and we’ll be happy as a pig in the proverbial…
16 thoughts on “Is Apple pushing consumers and developers loyalty too far? UPDATED”
Yawn.
Fairness is irrelevant. What matters is what the consumer is willing to bear. As long as the price is something the consumer is willing to pay it will stay where it is. If it’s to high Apple will know fairly quickly as folks will stop buying new and hang on to what they have.
another comment from the cheap seats, worthless article.
Yawn.
Apple’s customers aren’t of the group that would be affected by a recession. Sure, you’ll have some that delay a new Mac for a couple months, but with Snow Leopard coming up, and the economy showing signs of returning to normal… Apple doesn’t need to adjust a thing.
The old saying remains true… If your good with money, you buy Apple, if you’re not, you get stuck with poorly running equipment.
When you buy a ticket from ticketmaster you pay a hefty service show. If the show gets cancelled you get a refund of the ticket price but not the service charge. That 30% is the service charge.
When an app failed whose fault is it?
Wouldn’t this be a good idea to keep the developers on their toes to deliver great apps.
You know I’m not sure what proprietary ports and upgrades you’re talking about. Hard drives, memory, anything USB or Firewire; Apple uses the same items as a PC. The only thing that a little restrictive is a video card, which is getting better now with the switch to Intel processors. I can’t stand it when people make over-generalizations that aren’t even remotely true.
This article is right on. Whether you’re ‘good with money’ or not so, if you want a good machine you’ll buy apple. Problem is though if apple gets tougher & more proprietary then sales, and development, will slow down – meaning all users end up with less on offer over time.
This article has found a major loop hole with Apple Apps that keep consumers and Apple safe, but developers potentially lose out on money for an app that they spent time and effort in developing in the first place.
Apple does need to be out to make money as its main priority as all companies do, but it doesn’t need to do this by taking advantage of a group of people who promote the use of its devices by creating interesting new apps.
In the end though, the popularity of Apple does mean it can get away with these kinds of policies- what developer doesn’t want to say that they’re a hit on the Apple App store? It’s a surefire way to make a name for yourself, and therefore perhaps worth the risk. I’d say for this reason, Apple’s terms aren’t going to change anytime soon, but it’s still important that these policies are brought to light and discussed as much as possible.
It seems the author needed something to write about today.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too! You do remember that old Saw ? Right?
There are many products for which returning them invokes a “re-stocking” charge, a fancy way to make a few bucks, but often done. Apple would appear to be no different.
It’s pretty hard to hold Apple responsible for a customer over 90 days after purchasing some software responsible to take it back free. The average Mr. Consumer didn’t fall off that turnip truck, yet anyway.
Apple also chooses, just like BMW, or Cadillac along with others, not to play in the cheap price point.
Last, what is this noise about proprietary peripherals? You’re going back to old Macs, where there were other connections which worked. Don’t say SCSI was proprietary either on them. KB and mouse connections were in those days.
Today, Apple doens’t make any peripherals other than a KB and Mouse. Everything is third-party vendors and those “proprietary connections” are USB and Firewire. So, you’ve been drinking or smoking too much and more probably listening to your Windows-loving friends who are woefully mis-informed due to bias and a few other things.
@DigitalC, Have you seen Apples recent decision to remove the controls on the new ipod shuffle and place them on the earphones themselves?
A quote from Trusted Reviews
@Gaj/DigitalC/Michael – Yes, I agree that the old Apple was a far more closed system, and that
standardising peripherals and connections was necessary – for Apple’s necessity as much as
anything. But in this sense what the article was alluding to was the news that Gaj added above,
is it returning to its old ways and implementing non-standard connections that will ultimately
lead to less choice and/or increased cost for customers? Sure it could just be a one-off for
this new player, but in my opinion it’s still ultimately a bad thing for the customer.
The other main part was concerning term 6.3 of the developers agreement, particularly what
TazzaHall picked up on, everyone loses if creativity of developers is stifled in any way or
becomes a financial disincentive. But no, I’m sure there won’t be any amendment to these terms
anytime soon.
@AdamC – Sure, if an app isn’t up to scratch then maybe terms such as 6.3 will keep the worst
of the worst off of the store, but it really depends how discretionary the refunds are on Apple’s
part. If it’s faulty/non-functioning then it’s fair enough, but if it’s just down to user boredom then surely they can’t issue a full refund? It’s not as if each developer has chosen to implement this refund policy, it’s been imposed on them as a condition of being on the store in the first place.
@Ted Landry – Apple’s customers aren’t of the group that would be affected by a recession?
That’s an awfully large group of people you’re talking about there.
@DigitalC – No problems with Apple not playing in the cheap price point, each to their own – I
still feel that hardware-wise Apple machines are more expensive than similarly priced non-budget
brands such as Sony. For example, a MacBook Pro 15-inch is £1712 inc VAT on the Apple site
today, I upgraded a similar machine on the Sony site (VGNBZ35X) as close as I could get it to the
MacBook – with the only major difference as i could see it being a 2.53Ghz vs Apple’s 2.66Ghz;
the price is £944 inc VAT. So obviously there’s a fair price difference that can’t all lay in
the hardware, but as I said, each to their own.
I actually use both Macs and Windows machines so have no particular leaning for either, Macs are
certainly a whole lot “cooler” and better suited to certain tasks, but both are fit for their
job!
One’s just a bit more expensive than the other :)
Proprietary connector?
How exactly is it any more or less proprietary than my Zune80, my HTC smart phone, the composite out connector on my 360, the ice maker connector in my refrigerator, the computer connection for my car’s fuel injection module. I feel that this whole ‘connector issue’ that is brought up in the personal computing realm is entirely a red herring. Unique connectors are all over.
My next door neighbor told me once how much of a chuckle he gets out of people complaining that his APPLE MACS don’t have more than one button on the mice when its pretty clear they do. (Not to mention any ordinary usb mouse works)
As a non-MAC user when I see these strawman complaints get trotted out one wonders who what is in the mind of the person speaking them. At its best, it’s naiveté, at it’s worst it’s downright deception.
Ben,
If you think the earphone thing as in the shuffle is across the board, think again.
Apple had proprietary connections at a time when they were providing connetivity along peripherals that didn’t exist in the same manner. Save for ADB, it worked well until USB and later Firewire came along over a decade later.
As to your Sony laptop, I’d also bet you didn’t get the sofware that Apple includes in their laptops and you’ve forgotten something.
Apple isn’t just an assembler of parts. They also write the OS and have education division, software division—all things the other Windows OEM’s don’t have to the same degree, all of which are supported by making a profit. IOW, the BIGGER picture and getting more value for your buck, not just cheap price.
BTW, how long did you spend taking all the demo-crapware off the Sony when it was new, and putting on all manner of Windows upgrades to attempt to make it secure? How long do you spend keeping it secure on the web from virii, trojans, malware, etc., all things that rarely, if ever, affect the Mac?(not to say it isn’t in the future, but if it is, the impact should be less)?
If you look around the NG’s and other forums, it’s often been said that most Mac users CHOOSE the Mac because they’ve used Windows at work, don’t like them, or have made the decision to use the Mac rather than just “follow along” because everyone does so, or some “informed’ user told them so. Then there’s the folks who use Macs because the business or hobby they’re in is just easier on the Mac.
And Microsoft charges $250 for their cheapest version of Vista, while I can buy Leopard for $129.
I could go on forever regarding Microsoft’s proprietary nature as well.
So your point is pretty moot.