Comment by kace91
9 hours ago
>It's shocking that Apple hasn't done this trick yet when everyone else started doing it years ago.
They sell a walled garden. If shit gets inside the walls, we might as well come out.
I’m not willing to pay the apple tax any longer. Let the ad sellers pay if they’re the main costumers.
I’d like to revisit and see if in 6 months time you’ve actually left or if you just were angry.
> I’m not willing to pay the apple tax any longer.
Problem here is that when you decide you no longer wish to pay the tax and want to exit the walled garden, you discover that there's a heap of functionality and convenience you'll have to let go, and add complexity and cost to your setup.
I actively avoided relying on iCloud even when it was the sane option, but many people that will feel like the walled garden is no longer suiting them will have to figure out ways to move files, emails, and (crucially) communication channels out of the ecosystem.
I think a large number of them will decide that it's not worth the hassle, and remain walled in. Which is the idea to begin with.
Sure, this is HN, and many will say "screw it, I'll Nextcloud my way out", but the genpop will remain within the gilded cage.
Other than blue bubbles, you aren't leaving behind much nowadays. Apple is now lagging in general usability vs competitors, Siri as one glaring example.
I think parent was referring to how challenging it is to move data (files like photos and other types of files, all of which are only accessible through apps with those specific capabilities) out of the Apple mobile ecosystem and to something non-Apple-ish.
This is still true even if you use a Mac as an intermediary (if you have one), which also implies that you're probably going to be using iCloud to sync those as well.
Bottom line: it's exceptionally difficult, even for tech-forward Apple-philes, to move your own data off your iPhone without actually going DEEPER into the Apple ecosystem, and Apple has been actively removing capabilities and neutering apps like NextCloud etc (always for 'privacy' or 'security' reasons) to make it MORE difficult to exfil your own data.
>you discover that there's a heap of functionality and convenience you'll have to let go,
Cloud storage of pictures is not an issue as I do regular backups (we all should, we’re a false positive account termination away from crying otherwise).
What’s else is there? I’m not American so no iMessage, I struggle to find some other blocker.
>you discover that there's a heap of functionality and convenience you'll have to let go, and add complexity and cost to your setup.
Which is?
Every time I got an Apple product, it felt like a step back. They were late to widgets, late to AI. Their security is historically poor.
For the desktop Mac, the base OS is essentially UNIX. It is much more secure by default than Microsoft Windows. For the mobile Mac (iOS), they are much preferred by large corporations when giving mobile phones to employees. Why? Security is much better than Android.
> Every time I got an Apple product, it felt like a step back. They were late to widgets, late to AI. Their security is historically poor.
It's not a bad thing to be late to AI. Most of it has shown to be a complete waste of time, money and resources.
As for poor security - this has got to be a joke, right? If anything, it's the Windows world that has a piss poor track record when it comes to security. Apple meanwhile, unless you're a terrorist or drug kingpin, no way the police can access a properly protected device.
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> here's a heap of functionality and convenience you'll have to let go
That's a very outdated point of view. All mobile ecosystems have practical feature parity. Convenience - that's a tricky one. With Apple stuff, you only have convenience if you're one of the bubble people who has their entire family and close friends in the Apple ecosystem. The reality outside that is that for every 1 iOS person, there are ~2 non iOS people they need to collaborate with and share stuff. Convenience has left the room a long time ago.
Oh how I wish that was universally true. Unfortunately ive experienced strong discrimination for green checks especially amongst boutique SMB servicers
Oh no I lost my conveniences! Cry me a river. Are people really so weak we can't even give up little things to show these fucking tech companies we don't like what they are doing?
Wait, do you like what android and Microsoft are doing ?
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It’s still better than the alternatives
Only if you hate digital freedom
Once we grow up as a nation and legalize competing app stores on native Android and iOS you can try to make this point
However, the alternatives are currently illegal, so your point doesn't hold
Then they're not really alternatives, are they?
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In what ways? Apple, IMHO, has been jumping on every proverbial band wagon. And some of its 'better intended' changes like ATT seem only to have been to stifle competition while they set up their own solution.
Well, the alternatives is Android and... not really much else, for a full-featured smartphone. Say what you will about Apple, they're not perfect, but they have a better track record w.r.t privacy than Google in every way.
I'm not saying I like what Apple is doing here, but I trust Google a lot less with my data.
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I think that may depend a lot on just what you're used to.
Having never been in there, I can't imagine buying in now.