From Gizmodo:
The world’s most valuable company and a business run by the richest man in modern history have been engaged in an irritating cold war for years, and they need to knock it off.
When I say that Amazon and Apple are engaged in tech’s most annoying feud, I don’t mean it’s the most important battle in tech—it’s not. From a business perspective, Amazon and Apple’s squabbles make a certain amount of sense, but that doesn’t mean the whole thing isn’t obnoxious. I’m referring to the little ways these two giant companies have tried to kneecap each other over the years just to slug their users instead.
Today, one glaring example of these obscenely rich companies giving everyone a headache is the fact that Amazon apps for iPhone won’t allow you to buy e-books or audiobooks from the apps themselves. You can browse Amazon’s Kindle or Shopping apps and have a comfortable mobile experience on iOS—everything is laid out nicely and is easily accessible—but as soon as you decide on the perfect e-book, you’re forced to go to a browser to finalize your purchase. This isn’t an issue on Android.
I have two Kindles, but I usually end up reading books using the Kindle app on my iPhone just because it’s always with me. The first time I realized I couldn’t purchase a book on the Kindle app, I moved over to the main Amazon app where I was foiled again. Eventually, I had to navigate to the Amazon site in my mobile browser and go through the whole process of logging in and checking out. A few months later, I tend to forget about this annoyance and repeat the process. This being 2018, I also tend to spend more time buying books than reading them because the world has broken my brain.
. . . .
Amazon doesn’t disclose how many Kindle devices it sells, but in 2013, research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated 20.5 million Kindles were in use in the U.S., and those sales have declined while reading on a phone or tablet has become more common. Let’s just say 20.5 million people have spent five minutes bumbling with the checkout in a browser every year. That would mean people waste over 1.7 million hours in a year because of this problem. This isn’t so much a blood feud in which these companies are trying to mortally wound each other, it’s more like a competition to inflict paper cuts that only hurt users.
The primary reason for this spat is that Amazon apparently doesn’t want to cough up the 30-percent cut that Apple demands from in-app purchases, which includes e-books through Amazon’s apps.
Link to the rest at Gizmodo
PG buys lots of stuff from Amazon using his iPhone, but never realized that he couldn’t buy books on the device.
If Apple had put 10% of the effort Amazon expended in selling books, iBooks wouldn’t be an asterisk in the book business. After Steve Jobs and the Price-Fix Six got caught, Apple evidently didn’t want to get cooties by actively competing for the book business. Evidently, Apple doesn’t understand that it can compete in the book business without violating antitrust laws.
I love computers, hate smartphones, use an ancient Samsung Galaxy SII and have never owned /anything/ from Apple.
Not being able to buy books from an iPhone is a problem because…?
…you can from Android phones.
Anything that makes Android more useful than iOS has to be blamed on somebody. Preferably a non-Apple somebody.
Amazon is not perfect but this one is all on Apple.
Not mentioned is that Apple’s terms are 30% of the *retail* price, not 30% of the vendor’s cut.
The effect of surrendering to Apple would be zero profit for Amazon.
Also not mentioned: Nook and Kobo also are barred from selling ebooks from their iOS apps. It’s not just Amazon. That few complain is because of the limited market share left to them on iOS.
In fact, Apple not only prevents the sale of ebooks from the apps, they also bar any mention of their ebookstores in the apps.
They even had an incident where they barred a book from their store for mentioning the Amazon ebookstore inside.
Ah, then Amazon should notice when the ebook is sold through the apple app and tack another 30% ‘apple app tax’ to it!
Then that poor OP could support both the apple he loves and the Amazon that sells the ebook, a happy if poorer customer all around. 😉
‘get cooties’ (giggle)
Evidently, Apple doesn’t understand that it can compete in the book business without violating antitrust laws.
Is the implication that they would if they only understood anti-trust law? Perhaps they don’t care about books, and have chosen to just maintain a modest presence? Lots of companies don’t compete in various goods. For example, Amazon doesn’t compete in mobile phones, but I suspect it has nothing to do with their understanding of the law.
Apple wants everything their way or they don’t want to play – which was how they got caught price fixing in the first place.
And they can’t stand somebody else showing how easily – and cheaply – things could be done.
I think it has more to do with what happened. In 2009 they did a HUGE push to tell people the Ipad was a ereader and that the Apple bookstore was the place to be.
Then they got caught colluding to fix prices and ended up paying a huge fine. Almost overnight they let their book business go on autopilot. So yes, in a way, it’s like they don’t understand they could compete without violating anti-trust laws.
And yes, Amazon does compete in the cell market, they just don’t sell through carriers. The Blu is a remarkably good smartphone for $50 wihch they regularly sell out of.
The $50 Blu has almost as many 1-star reviews (34%) as 5-star reviews (38%). That certainly affects my purchasing consideration.
For the price of an Iphone I could purchase a brand new Blu every month for 12 months. I have one, it works at least 75% as well as an I-phone. It certainly has it’s problems… but it cost $50. I’ve had it for almost two years. That is a far greater value per dollar than an Iphone could ever achieve. Especially when 80% of what you’re paying for is the name. All I’m saying is, Apple got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and then refused to eat any cookies. They could if they want too, they just don’t.
When I first bought my Kindle back in 2009. I would download a sample and then if I wanted to keep reading, I clicked, “buy this book” at the end of the sample. I didn’t have much of a stock pile. I always bought Kindle with free cellular when I upgraded to a new Kindle.
Then the publishers finally got agency and prices went up so I started stock piling when there were sales. Now if the price is over $10, I download from the library. Mostly I buy from my computer so my last Kindle was purchased without cellular. I do also read on my iPhone and my iPad, but I don’t miss not being able to buy books directly Amazon. I have so many unread books on my Kindle that I have no need to buy new books when I’m out.
Yeah, it’s Amazon’s fault Apple’s an south end of a north bound mule.
I’m guessing he’s okay though with B&N refusing to sell Amazon press books?
Any bets he’d blame Amazon if Apple sold Amazon ebooks at only 30% more than Amazon would sell him the same ebook?
.
“I have two Kindles, but I usually end up reading books using the Kindle app on my iPhone just because it’s always with me. The first time I realized I couldn’t purchase a book on the Kindle app, I moved over to the main Amazon app where I was foiled again. Eventually, I had to navigate to the Amazon site in my mobile browser and go through the whole process of logging in and checking out. A few months later, I tend to forget about this annoyance and repeat the process. This being 2018, I also tend to spend more time buying books than reading them because the world has broken my brain.”
Non-apple user here, so a question to our apple users – is the apple store that much better/easier to use than Amazon’s web pages? And do you do all your Amazon ordering through the apple store like this guy claims to?
.
“The primary reason for this spat is that Amazon apparently doesn’t want to cough up the 30-percent cut that Apple demands from in-app purchases, which includes e-books through Amazon’s apps.”
Ah, Apple entitlement, I should have known …
So, Apple wants a third of the “action” for:
* Not storing the book data on their servers;
* Not running the back end for the app on their servers;
* Not paying the payment transaction fees at the bank;
* Not dealing with the multiple sales tax issues;
* Not managing the customer account;
* Not providing customer support when the app has a problem.
Nice gig! Other wireless providers should take note of this – they’re missing out on a fantastic way to gouge their customers.
(I use an iNothing myself. Quite happy with it, actually.)
You can’t buy anything from ANY app on IOS without giving 30% to Apple. It didn’t use to be that way but when Apple realized how many books people were buying with the various Amazon apps they changed their TOS. Same day Amazon modified their apps to send you to the web. No company is going to reasonably give away 30% of their revenue because of the platform. It would be one thing if Apple hosted the books or something, but no, this is solely because the app is on IOS. I’m not sure what the reciprocity is he’s speaking of. I don’t know anything Amazon does that hurts Apple. You can by Apple products on Amazon for the same ridiculously high amount as on Apple’s website. Perhaps he’s just referring to the fact that Amazon has books he wants and he can’t buy them from Apple…
No company is going to reasonably give away 30% of their revenue because of the platform.
How much do Amazon 3rd-party sellers give up?
No company is going to reasonably give away 30% of their revenue because of the platform.
I do something similar, but it’s not my revenue. I get appx 65% of the retail price of a book I posted to KDP. It’s Amazon’s revenue, and my deal with Amazon gives me appx 65% of that revenue.
Amazon performs a function, they offer the marketplace, they do the transactions, they take care of the back end. They provide a service. Apple does none of that. It is 30% for the privilege to use a non-Apple app to buy something from a non-apple store.
The best analogy I can think of would be if your Asus desktop computer demanded 30% of all the money you spent on the internet because you use their platform to make the purchases.