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They absolutely are. Apple makes money from the iOS ecosystem in two ways: through device sales, and through App Store purchases. I'd agree that iOS is an exam
by jeethsuresh 7y ago
They absolutely are. Apple makes money from the iOS ecosystem in two ways: through device sales, and through App Store purchases.
I'd agree that iOS is an example of a restrictive platform, in that ~30% of all revenue goes to a single gate-keeping party.
In any case, I messed up the quote a little, another commenter found the source and real comment: 'Gates said something along the lines of, “That’s a crock of shit. This isn’t a platform. A platform is when the economic value of everybody that uses it, exceeds the value of the company that creates it. Then it’s a platform.”' [1]
[1] https://stratechery.com/2018/the-bill-gates-line/ https://stratechery.com/2018/the-bill-gates-line/
- gok 7y agoBut the revenue from hardware is far and away higher than software.
- Jolter 7y agoWhat's the total annual income of the App Store these days?
- ericlewis 7y ago2018: 46 billion. Edit: iPhone does something like that amount per fiscal Q.
- naniwaduni 7y agoThere's a lot of consumer surplus.
- scarface74 7y agoIf that’s the litmus test - that the owner is a gatekeeper that keeps a share of the profit - you have to include all of the console makers and Kindle.
- ric2b 7y agoI would say consoles are definetly a platform, people even call them "gaming platforms". The Kindle as well, but that seems less clear to me.
- scarface74 7y agoI agree. But the litmus test where one gatekeeper takes a fee making it not a platform is nonsensical. That’s what the parent poster said.