The Desolation of Apple
The folks at Apple have been working on the Vision Pro for a
staggering 16
years and, despite my, and others,
misgivings, they seem to have produced an incredibly well engineered
product.
The device finally went up for preorder on 19th
January. This should have been a huge week for Apple. One for
them to bask in all of the positive attention from customers, and
excited developers eager to create for the platform. This, however,
isnât quite how itâs gone.
On the 25th of January Apple
released the iOS 17.4 developer beta and along with it released one of
the most petulant
press releases I think Iâve ever read. The developer beta included
with it some changes Apple has been forced to make to address new EU
regulations, namely the Digital Markets Act, or DMA. This isnât the
first time EU lawmakers have forced Apple to make changes to their
products or services, we had the introduction of USB-C worldwide, but
when theyâve done it in the past they were able to make the most of the
situation and spin it into a benefit for customers, and cover up the
fact they were essentially compelled to do it.
With the
latest announcement, however, Apple have gone full Veruca Salt, and
thrown their toys out of the pram.
Their press release is just laden with fear mongering and patronising statements, such as:
For users, the changes include new controls and disclosures, and expanded protections to reduce privacy and security risks the DMA creates
The copy is littered with references to fraud and users being
confronted with choosing a browser. Wonât someone please
think of the children!
The irony of flagging the
increased risk of fraud, scams, and bad actors that will spring up from
giving users choices and options to use their device the way they want
just throws Appleâs other product line, the Mac, under the bus.
Customers that side of the room can choose their default browser, and
download apps from where they want, and generally use their computer for
any computing they want. Are Apple implying what theyâve been
doing for the Mac for years is actually harmful and irresponsible?
The iPhone, and iPad are incredibly powerful and capable
machines now, and both devices have been in peopleâs lives for a long
time now. Its obvious that Apple arenât really upset about the
risks to customers here, or theyâd be pushing for the same with the Mac.
Whilst some in the community are still struggling to see this, Apple is
very much a business and its primary guiding focus is to make more and
more money for shareholders. Sure, if they can bring some change to the
world via some life changing devices then wonderful, but the number one
guiding focus is always going to be âwill this device make money?â
Appleâs insistence on retaining control of the iPhone and the way itâs
used is not about protecting the poor stupid users that need
Daddy Cook to stop us downloading dodgy stuff off the internet itâs
about protecting their bottom line. By putting out a pissy statement
like this, theyâre only highlighting this fact, and making themselves
look very childish to boot.
Some of Appleâs choices when it
comes to complying with the DMA requirements seem questionable, such as
potential insane costs associated to using an external payment system,
and it seems theyâre blowing their developer relations by pushing all of
this out the week when all developers eyes, and excitement, should be
aimed at making Vision Pro experiences, which by all accounts seem to be
quite
lacking currently.
One interesting comment, on Daring
Fireball, struck me as quite amusing. As John
Gruber put it:
The delicious irony in Appleâs not knowing if these massive proposals will be deemed DMA-compliant is that their dealings with the European Commission sound exactly like App Store developersâ dealings with Apple. Do all the work to build it first, and only then find out if it passes muster with the largely inscrutable rules.
Whilst there have certainly been a few mentions of Vision Pro in my
timeline, and in podcasts, there has been noticeably less discourse than
there has been over this angry compliance with the DMA rules,
and it feels like Apple has shot itself in the foot with this statement,
and alternative payment plans all in the same week. Yes, it will all
blow over, but this is another dent in their armour on both the general
public, and developers, good will for the company. If I had worked on
Vision Pro for any of those 16 years itâs apparently
been in development, Iâd also be fuming at Apple, and Tim Cook, for
whizzing on my bonfire.Â
I hope itâs worth it Apple.Â