[HN Gopher] Apple Releases App Store Monthly Active User Counts ...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Apple Releases App Store Monthly Active User Counts for EU to
       Comply with DSA
        
       Author : tech234a
       Score  : 140 points
       Date   : 2023-04-27 17:11 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.apple.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.apple.com)
        
       | smoldesu wrote:
       | > because the goals of the DSA align with Apple's goals to
       | protect consumers from illegal content.
       | 
       | An interesting gambit. It sounds like they want to concede to the
       | regulators while using "illegal content" as the new boogeyman
       | stopping people from freely using their device.
       | 
       | The freedom-loving part of me wants the EU to push the DSA/DMA
       | further, damning all the "content" boogeymen that exist. The
       | realistic part of me knows that this is an amazing deal for the
       | regulator, a literal Golden Apple if you will. Apple is
       | signalling cooperation here, and attaching it to a "think of the
       | children/terrorists" sentiment that most politicians will jump
       | on. It's a damn good strategy, and would almost be impressive if
       | it wasn't used in a desperate struggle to stop the user from
       | installing F-Droid on iOS.
        
         | rootusrootus wrote:
         | > The freedom-loving part of me wants the EU to push
         | 
         | I'd expect that writing this phrase caused actual physical pain
         | from the cognitive dissonance.
        
           | permo-w wrote:
           | it's cognitively dissonant to believe that regulations cannot
           | create freedom
        
           | madsbuch wrote:
           | Why? A big part of governance is to ensure individual
           | freedom: Minimum salary, unions, etc.
           | 
           | The comment seems to be perfectly congruent.
           | 
           | (Though you have to accept a more ... European world view)
        
             | sib wrote:
             | Uhh, those are antithetical to individual freedom.
             | 
             | If I want to work for less than the minimum salary, I
             | can't.
             | 
             | If I want to work at a company and not join a union, I
             | can't.
             | 
             | As someone once said, "the true minimum wage is zero."
        
               | smoldesu wrote:
               | It is possible to be free in a society that restricts
               | some personal freedoms. The libertarian extremist model
               | that you're suggesting doesn't resemble a society at all,
               | and it's mostly a testament to why we can't provide total
               | personal or market freedom. Without being able to
               | disincentivize bad behavior, everyone will race to the
               | bottom regardless of altruistic intent.
        
               | Spivak wrote:
               | You're describing freedom as in anarchy, the parent is
               | describing freedom as in liberty.
               | 
               | I am more free and able to use the software I want when
               | the government forces Apple to unlock their devices even
               | though it makes Apple less free.
               | 
               | I am more free to travel when everyone follows the rules
               | of the road even though I give up some autonomy to do so.
               | 
               | I am more free to use wireless networks because everyone
               | has to stick to their assigned bands even though I give
               | up my ability to use other bands to do so.
               | 
               | I am more free to live and sleep because of noise
               | ordinances even though it means I can't play loud music
               | late at night either.
               | 
               | For people who value liberty, freedom means the ability
               | to do the things you actually want to do. Social norms
               | get enforced everywhere, even in the state of nature.
        
           | smoldesu wrote:
           | The freedom-loving part of me also cheers on the Right to
           | Repair, even though it isn't a truly libertarian ideal. Is
           | there a problem with that?
           | 
           | Preserving individual freedom is what keeps the free market
           | in check. It is precisely the thing stopping 1984 from being
           | like 1984.
        
           | owisd wrote:
           | It's a balancing act between the negative freedom to be
           | allowed to manufacture and sell a locked down device VS the
           | positive freedom to install whatever software you want on the
           | devices that you buy. I know libertarians skew very much
           | towards the negative end, but they don't get to gatekeep the
           | word freedom.
        
         | heavyset_go wrote:
         | Apple tried their hardest to make non-iPhones "pedo phones",
         | and they'll do the same thing here.
         | 
         | Non-App Store apps help terrorists, criminals, pedophiles, etc
         | someone please think of the children.
        
         | csomar wrote:
         | It'll be interesting if the plot is twisted and instead the EU
         | requires Google to limit Android to only Google Playstore.
        
           | knaik94 wrote:
           | That would imply that Amazon app store or Samsung app store
           | apps are illegal content. While they are not as popular in
           | the US, these alernate apps stores have existed for years on
           | android without issue.
        
           | smoldesu wrote:
           | It would be a hell of a pivot, but kinda unlikely given how
           | the AOSP exists.
        
       | rpgbr wrote:
       | Less than 1% of European iPhone users have an Apple Watch, or am
       | I misreading something? I really thought this percentage was
       | bigger in such a rich place.
        
         | pertymcpert wrote:
         | We don't call them europoors for nothing!
         | 
         | (I'm a European myself)
        
         | ezfe wrote:
         | I interpret this to be users of the service, not users of the
         | device the service supports. Most users probably don't open the
         | Watch app store and use the iPhone app store instead.
        
         | ffitch wrote:
         | Probably just mean the users visit watch store less often than
         | they visit ios app store
        
         | Jtsummers wrote:
         | This is monthly ??? Store users. Having an Apple Watch does not
         | imply they use the Apple Watch App Store every month, or even
         | any month. Even having an iPhone does not mean they'll use the
         | iPhone App Store each month (though it's probably more likely).
        
           | jd96 wrote:
           | What even is the Apple Watch store? Isn't that just the iOS
           | store?
        
             | Jtsummers wrote:
             | > What even is the Apple Watch store?
             | 
             | Apple Watch _App_ Store. It 's an app store on the Apple
             | Watch showing Apple Watch apps. Many of which, but not all,
             | have an iPhone/iPad companion app.
        
         | gumballindie wrote:
         | All those riches are taken back as taxes. So while it sounds
         | like europeans are rich it's just on paper. But they take
         | comfort in projecting their own status on similarly poor people
         | from parts of europe that are developing faster but are bit
         | behind since you know they only recently became free. It's
         | hilarious to observe and funny in a sad way.
        
           | jd96 wrote:
           | Far better to live in a low tax, failed state with extreme
           | economic inequality. At least we've got Apple Watches, am I
           | right?
        
             | [deleted]
        
       | systemvoltage wrote:
       | Wait, why is this a regulation? Why should a corporation have to
       | disclose MAU? I'm holding off my cynicism, asking for a friend.
        
         | Someone wrote:
         | There's fairly broad political pressure to regulate large
         | players in online platforms such as Apple and Google.
         | 
         | As a result, the EU regulated online platforms. As is often the
         | case, they aren't stupid, and put more stringent requirements
         | on large players than on smaller ones.
         | 
         | So, they have to know which players are smaller and which are
         | larger. They chose to use number of active users as the way to
         | measure whether players are large, with 10% of the population
         | (45 million) a cut-off point.
         | 
         | That's why they require all digital services companies to
         | report # of active users.
         | 
         | (Aside: it turns out that Wikipedia is a very large online
         | platform, too. See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/
         | detail/en/ip_23_...)
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | greycol wrote:
         | To comply with section 24(2) of the DSA. You need to publish
         | that information about your number of EU users.
         | 
         | Currently there's no strict rules on how you calculate or even
         | necessarily the information you publish. Other than saying
         | based on your calculation your number of users is below 45
         | million (in the EU). In the future there will be delegated
         | articles on how the calculation must be done.
         | 
         | Obviously the regulation was made in comitee with team of
         | lawyers but I expect the justification for "Why should a
         | corporation have to disclose MAU?" is something like:
         | 
         | * The majority of businesses will with minimal work be able to
         | tell the difference between having under say 4 million EU usere
         | and having 45 million eureopean users so they'll know if
         | they're in a range where they should be concerned about the
         | regulations.
         | 
         | * If they're getting to a size where they have millions of
         | users (in europe alone) they should have the resources to put
         | in place logging/policy to figure out if they're approaching
         | the 45 million EU users with more confidence.
         | 
         | * By making them publish a statement saying they've done what
         | they believe is due dilligence on making sure the rules don't
         | apply then enforcement becomes much easier. Auditing only needs
         | to be done randomly on a handful of sites that declare they're
         | just under the limit and on those who look like they are taking
         | the piss saying they're well below the limit or seem to be
         | growing but keep saying they're just under the limit
         | declaration after declaration.
         | 
         | So these numbers are shown in Apple's case because it's in a
         | companies best interest to show they're acting in good faith in
         | working out these numbers (Especially since in Apple's case
         | they're trying to differentiate the services so that they can
         | try to reserve the right to not apply the DSA to some of those
         | services in a possible future). Stating a number (or that
         | you're well below the user limit) implies you've done a real
         | calculation (i.e. I only get 44 million site visits from
         | anywhere in the world every 6 months so I can't have 45 million
         | EU users) and in the case of an audit where it's not the case
         | shows you were acting maliciously/with gross negligence/with a
         | calculation tha needs to be changed, making any enforcement
         | much more justifiable.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | jsnell wrote:
       | > iOS App Store: 101 million
       | 
       | > iPadOS App Store: 23 million
       | 
       | Asserting that the iPad App Store is distinct from the iOS App
       | Store - and totally isn't in scope for the regulations - is
       | certainly a bold strategy.
       | 
       | I wonder why iTunes and Apple TV+ aren't included, and why
       | Podcasts is only counting paid subscribers. Is there some obvious
       | reason why these kinds of services would be out of scope?
        
         | alberth wrote:
         | > _I wonder why iTunes and Apple TV+ aren 't included, and why
         | Podcasts is only counting paid subscribers. Is there some
         | obvious reason why these kinds of services would be out of
         | scope?_
         | 
         | Probably because they don't exceed the 45MM MAU threshold.
         | 
         | > Online platforms with 45 million or more average monthly
         | active recipients
        
           | jsnell wrote:
           | Most of the services they listed were nowhere near the
           | threshold, so that can't be it.
        
         | fsckboy wrote:
         | > _iPad App Store is distinct from the iOS App Store_
         | 
         | the whole idea that applications written in software shouldn't
         | handle screensize differences (and dynamic changes)
         | intelligently is just so broken. I get that feeling in the pit
         | of my stomach like "who let these people in? is the door wide
         | open out there?"
         | 
         | i mean, to each their own, that's just me, but that's how I
         | feel software should be written, and while we're at it, give
         | the user some input/options at runtime.
        
           | threeseed wrote:
           | iOS/iPadOS does allow you to have one code base that
           | dynamically responds to screen sizes.
           | 
           | But almost always the experience for iPad users is terrible.
           | 
           | Which is why Apple's initial approach of forcing developers
           | to build distinct iPad apps was the right one and a large
           | reason why its tablets dominated the market versus Android
           | competitors.
        
             | fsckboy wrote:
             | > _iOS /iPadOS does allow you to have one code base that
             | dynamically responds to screen sizes. But almost always the
             | experience for iPad users is terrible._
             | 
             | are you saying the tools aren't there for developers to
             | create equally pleasing (mutatis mutandis) apps, or simply
             | that the developers aren't able to create equally pleasing
             | (mutatis mutandis) apps? Or that designers can't grok the
             | mapping between their equally pleasing ideas and the tools
             | available?
        
               | threeseed wrote:
               | There is no tool that can scale a mobile app to tablet
               | size whilst maintaining a great UX.
               | 
               | You need to optimise for the particulars of each device.
        
               | selykg wrote:
               | Having worked on an app that, at least in my opinion, was
               | pretty well done for each platform (phone and iPad), this
               | is the case.
               | 
               | Our UI for the iPad was a completely separate one. The
               | core code was shared via various internal libraries, but
               | the UI was entirely different. Adding a feature to iPhone
               | required one entirely separate set of code compared to
               | the iPad app. The app was a universal binary though and
               | one app ran on both device types.
               | 
               | This was, at the time, an absolute requirement. There was
               | no way to scale the app from iPad to iPhone in such a way
               | that it would give a great experience on both iPhone and
               | iPad. It just wasn't possible to give an excellent app.
               | 
               | I've long since left and the app does seem to be written
               | in SwiftUI now and seems to be one shared codebase. But I
               | wouldn't say it's as good as it was previously.
        
               | heisenzombie wrote:
               | A phone and a tablet are just wildly different devices.
               | Screen size --sure-- but also usage patterns, input
               | methods, workflow conventions, etc.
               | 
               | The "mutationes" that must be made reach deep into the
               | functionality of an app, not just UI-level stuff. The
               | whole purpose of the app should probably change. It's
               | therefore a big and challenging job to make an app scale
               | seamlessly from one device to another. That's irreducible
               | complexity. The tools available will always be at best
               | "necessary but not sufficient".
        
               | zamnos wrote:
               | I'd say it's on the other end. users can't find the apps
               | which are properly designed for tablets, and get tired of
               | wading through crap to find them. the tips are totally
               | there, but if you search for, eg, python, you can be sure
               | the iPadOS app is decent and designed for ipad, vs you
               | have no idea if the Android app is actually pleasing on
               | tablet.
               | 
               | That developers have the tools and can or cannot use the
               | tools is secondary to that, imo.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | zamnos wrote:
           | The iPad store didn't break away from the iOS store until
           | 2019. The original app store came out in 2008, eleven years
           | earlier. While you have as certain point, the division is
           | meant to highlight apps which treat the iPad as a mini
           | laptop, with a keyboard and pencil, vs just a bigger phone.
           | If you've ever coded a website to resize, that's child's
           | play. to actually get an app working properly across both
           | sizes, you've got to put in significant work for each. For
           | developers that don't want to put in that work *, listing in
           | one or the other is fine, and possible Uber the current
           | regieme.
           | 
           | * the developer for papers please's blog about the mobile
           | port is indicative of the work that goes into supporting
           | other screen sizes. Asking developers to have infinite time
           | and motivation is just not realistic. also note that it took
           | a few years for the mobile port to be released.
           | 
           | https://dukope.com/devlogs/papers-please/mobile/
        
             | scarface74 wrote:
             | This is not true. From the day that the iPad was
             | introduced, you have always been able to sell separate iPad
             | versions of an app then iPhone versions.
        
               | glompers wrote:
               | You can still do it without doing it well. That's
               | probably not at issue so I think the parent is not false
        
           | glompers wrote:
           | I like your comment and not because I polemically see this as
           | correct compared to the other people who disagree with you. I
           | think it is a good comment although I don't agree with you,
           | so thanks, and (on second thought I suppose you comment
           | frequently so I am not referencing any other comments in
           | general but) happy to hear more of your sensibility in
           | various threads.
        
           | babypuncher wrote:
           | Software that dynamically changes to fit different form
           | factors is difficult to write and rarely comes without
           | compromises to the UX.
           | 
           | I prefer it when my iPhone and iPad apps have separate
           | bespoke UIs that take full advantage of the different sizes
           | and shapes.
        
             | fsckboy wrote:
             | writing software is about writing the hard-to-write parts
             | one time, so that users aren't confronted with the
             | anomalies all the time. Computers are our servants, we need
             | to let them figure things out for users, and take care of
             | the headaches, not simply declare "here, this is a
             | headache".
             | 
             | yes, what you are pointing out is the challenge. solve it,
             | don't slough it onto the user.
             | 
             | However, the same app can appear on different sized screens
             | with different skins, it doesn't have to be a different
             | app.
        
               | babypuncher wrote:
               | I'm not saying we should slough it on to the user. I'm
               | saying there is no true substitute for hand tailoring
               | your app for each platform you choose to support.
        
         | cube2222 wrote:
         | It's worth noting that they assert still wanting to comply on
         | the other platforms:
         | 
         | > Nonetheless, Apple intends, on an entirely voluntary basis,
         | to align each of the existing versions of the App Store
         | (including those that do not currently meet the VLOP
         | designation threshold) with the existing DSA requirements for
         | VLOPs because the goals of the DSA align with Apple's goals to
         | protect consumers from illegal content.
        
           | flipbrad wrote:
           | Yes, but the regulatory fee you pay annually is calculated by
           | reference to the in-scope service(s)' userbase, so by slicing
           | you reduce what you pay, and your rivals end up footing more
           | of the cost (since it's a cost-share system). Well played,
           | Apple.
        
         | wildredkraut wrote:
         | I don't think they will be out of scope, because they all uses
         | the same AppleID backend and users can cross login with the
         | same AppleID everywhere. To be out of scope, Apple would have
         | to block iOS AppleIDs and iOS purchases from working on the
         | other gadgets and stores.
        
           | threeseed wrote:
           | They share the same AppleID backend.
           | 
           | But users don't have to use the same login for each store.
        
         | shaky-carrousel wrote:
         | Yeah, in the EU bold strategies are pretty expensive. But sadly
         | Apple is a slow learner.
        
         | anonymouse008 wrote:
         | Eh, I get the position here. Different device classes,
         | different markets.
         | 
         | I've gotten more than a few apps approved on tv, watch, Mac,
         | iOS, iPad. They are distinctly different. As much as Apple is
         | helping us leverage 'one code base to rule them all' there are
         | so many gotchas and detail required to make great experiences
         | on each.
        
           | eptcyka wrote:
           | Yeah, sort of how Microsoft could argue that there exists two
           | separate markets for Windows running on stationary compute
           | devices and Windows for mobile devices. Except this is a sad
           | joke and letting Apple get away with two devices running the
           | same OS would be playing into their hand that they stacked
           | years ago when they split them off. What is up with the
           | enormous amount of people on this site who are inexplicably
           | apologetic to Apple and other FAANG giants.
        
             | [deleted]
        
             | beaned wrote:
             | I don't think it's apologetic, it's two different
             | approaches. MS has chosen to try to kill 2 birds with one
             | stone, and Apple has allowed their devices to become more
             | focused. As someone with an iPad, I appreciate Apple not
             | trying to force that iPhone and iPad apps be the same
             | thing. The experience is better.
        
             | Twisell wrote:
             | This is hilarious considering that the classical, yet
             | irrational, fear amongst long time MacOS users is that
             | Apple might be secretly planing an OS convergence. This is
             | usually perceived as doomsday for MacOS and have been
             | feared by some for up to 15 years.
             | 
             | You are basically stating the opposite while completely
             | ignoring the actual complexity of such an hypothetical
             | merge for codebases that forked 15 years ago. They share a
             | kernel and some API, but on the UI side recent cross
             | platform framework are more like a proof of concept than a
             | production ready thing.
        
               | downWidOutaFite wrote:
               | Another thing that's hilarious[1] is in the Epic lawsuit
               | Apple wanted to define the market as big as possible
               | while here they define it as small as possible.
               | 
               | [1] not actually hilarious
        
           | _the_inflator wrote:
           | I agree. Almost anyone of these one size fits all approaches
           | hits a wall sooner or later. Besides very basic applications,
           | I would never make use of frameworks like Flutter or React
           | Native. Same goes for Windows Universal Apps. Great concepts,
           | but not very feasible in reality for slightly complex apps
           | with good UX.
        
             | rnk wrote:
             | I strongly disagree. This is just big companies
             | artificially separating their market segments to argue
             | against too large of a market, and preserve their enormous
             | profits with their huge percentage take. The world would be
             | much better off with multiple stores. It will take legal
             | action by the eu, and it will be hard, these rich companies
             | are very influential. In the us we have too much capture of
             | federal politicans, I only hope the eu can push it.
        
               | nextos wrote:
               | I hope multiple stores shake a bit the iPad ecosystem.
               | It's a great device and, unlike in mobile, there's no
               | competition.
               | 
               | Android tablets are pretty bad. Google dropped the ball,
               | although they seem to be coming back.
               | 
               | iPads could be fantastic devices to program in, but they
               | are quite crippled by limitations.
               | 
               | Boutique software companies, such as Panic or Omni Group,
               | plus other developers could really extend the ecosystem
               | beyond content consumption and simple document creation
               | tasks.
        
             | makestuff wrote:
             | Do you think it is worth the increased time to start out as
             | a native app, or is it still worth rolling your MVP as
             | flutter/reactive native?
        
               | karmelapple wrote:
               | IMO, roll your MVP with something like React Native,
               | although it all depends how important the user experience
               | is for your end users.
               | 
               | Snapchat built with some platform-independent UI toolkit
               | would have felt kind of wrong, and the speed at which
               | I've seen teenagers use it (this was years ago) shows
               | that they would have been frustrated with anything that
               | is slow-ish. I assume similar trends dominate for TikTok
               | and Instagram today.
               | 
               | So unless you're attracting a very hip, fast-moving,
               | perhaps even young-person's market, you probably just
               | want an app that basically works and is available to
               | folks on whichever phone they use. React Native, Flutter,
               | Xamarin / .NET MAUI will all get you there.
        
         | m3kw9 wrote:
         | They wouldn't base their strategy on numbers but function.
        
         | MBCook wrote:
         | iTunes and Apple TV aren't app stores.
         | 
         | The Apple TV App Store is listed.
        
           | jsnell wrote:
           | That explanation does not work. The DSA isn't a law
           | restricted to App Stores.
           | 
           | Also, podcasts and ebooks are not apps, but they listed their
           | ebook store and podcast subscriptions platform in this
           | disclosure. Why not the music store, the TV series and movie
           | subscription service?
        
         | cma wrote:
         | Don't purchases literally work between the iPad and iOS stores
         | in most cases?
        
           | scarface74 wrote:
           | I have one app that doesn't have an iPhone equivalent - Duet.
           | 
           | But a developer can sell separate iPad versions of an app.
           | Most don't anymore.
        
         | gjsman-1000 wrote:
         | Note that this is the Digital _Services_ Act compliance, and
         | not the Digital _Markets_ Act which affects sideloading.
        
           | wildredkraut wrote:
           | Yes I know, and they share the same AppleIDs/AppleID
           | Backend/Purchages. These AppStores are not fully independent
           | and have to be seen as one. Many Apps even share the same
           | binaries and are cross Apple Device available. You can
           | install iPhone Apps on iPads, and you can install iPad Apps
           | on Macs.
           | 
           | That won't work on court.
        
             | gjsman-1000 wrote:
             | > That won't work on court.
             | 
             | How do you know? If there was no chance of it working, you
             | would think Apple's lawyers would have said so.
        
               | wildredkraut wrote:
               | There is a reason why they bend over for EU's DSA.
               | 
               | They can view the stores as they want, but they know that
               | per law they aren't distinct online platforms, as long
               | their Userbase, AppleIDs, AppleID Backend, Hosting
               | Services, Databases, iCloud Services, Apps, Games and In-
               | App Purchases are cross-wired and shared between all
               | Apple devices/stores. The DSA sees it as one(1) united
               | Online Platform and would not care for Apple's Store
               | breakdown.
               | 
               | This is just the typical Apple FUD: Without prejudice to
               | further consideration of the legal characterisation,
               | Apple views each version of the App Store as a distinct
               | online platform under the DSA, and only the iOS App Store
               | may qualify as a VLOP. Nonetheless, Apple intends, on an
               | entirely voluntary basis, to align each of the existing
               | versions of the App Store (including those that do not
               | currently meet the VLOP designation threshold) with the
               | existing DSA requirements for VLOPs because the goals of
               | the DSA align with Apple's goals to protect consumers
               | from illegal content.
        
       | I_am_tiberius wrote:
       | This sounds like something I would expect from China.
        
       | nottorp wrote:
       | > Without prejudice to further consideration of the legal
       | characterisation, Apple views each version of the App Store as a
       | distinct online platform under the DSA, and only the iOS App
       | Store may qualify as a VLOP.
       | 
       | LOL LMAO ROFL. I really hope there is some EU directive that this
       | is breaking so they can be fined just for being asses.
        
         | apetresc wrote:
         | Given that the definition of a VLOP is >45M MAU, and the iOS
         | store is the only one that's even remotely close to being over
         | that, what do you object with in this characterization?
         | 
         | Also you left out _the very next sentence_ , which completely
         | reverses the interpretation you're trying to imply:
         | 
         | > Nonetheless, Apple intends, on an entirely voluntary basis,
         | to align each of the existing versions of the App Store
         | (including those that do not currently meet the VLOP
         | designation threshold) with the existing DSA requirements for
         | VLOPs because the goals of the DSA align with Apple's goals to
         | protect consumers from illegal content.
        
           | 988747 wrote:
           | I think the point is: App Stores for iPhone and iPads are in
           | reality one and the same. Apple tries to artificially split
           | them, so they can avoid regulations for at least one of them.
        
             | bunbun69 wrote:
             | Show me where apple is avoiding regulations here
        
               | [deleted]
        
           | nottorp wrote:
           | > the iOS store is the only one that's even remotely close to
           | being over that
           | 
           | What iOS store? They're all one and the same. You can install
           | iOS apps on iPadOS right?
           | 
           | It doesn't matter that they "voluntarily comply". They just
           | shouldn't have the nerve to split them.
        
             | scarface74 wrote:
             | You can't install iPad only apps on iPhone though.
        
               | andrejguran wrote:
               | you can if you check one checkmark during publishing of
               | your iOS app (same with mac).
        
       | CostcoFanboy wrote:
       | I'm surprised there are more Apple TV users than Apple watch
       | users. It always felt like a fairly niched device.
       | 
       | On a somewhat unrelated side-note, as a hardcore Plex user for
       | the last 5-6 years, Apple TV has been an amazing Plex client.
       | Second only to a Nvidia Shield Pro downgraded to 8.2.3 firmware.
       | 
       | Honestly with the quality of their TV boxes, screens and the
       | "ecosystem", I'm kind of surprised they didn't dive into the TV
       | business.
        
         | TYPE_FASTER wrote:
         | The Apple Watch will automatically install the watchOS app for
         | each iOS app you install on your phone by default, if a watchOS
         | app exists for the iOS app. I don't know if the auto installs
         | count towards user visits to the watchOS App Store. I don't
         | think I've ever used the watchOS store, and my watch is full of
         | apps.
         | 
         | https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/get-more-apps-
         | apd99e3c....
        
         | jasongill wrote:
         | I'm actually NOT surprised by this stat - keep in mind these
         | numbers are the number of active users of the stores, not of
         | the devices themselves. I've had an Apple Watch since day 1 but
         | I can't remember the last time I went to the App Store on my
         | watch itself. On the other hand, I have to use the AppleTV App
         | Store once every couple months to download whatever app is
         | required by the newest streaming platform the family want to
         | use. I suspect most people are like me as well in that they use
         | their iPhone to manage the "apps" on their watch (or, don't
         | manage them at all), but are forced to download apps on the
         | AppleTV periodically, which causes it to have higher usage
         | stats.
        
         | mperham wrote:
         | Note these counts are for *European* users. The Apple watch
         | seems really successful in my American suburb but that may not
         | be true in the EU.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | eddieroger wrote:
         | Apps aside, my house has two adults with Apple Watches and four
         | TVs with AppleTVs. I don't think it's surprising that the aTV
         | outnumbers the Watch.
        
         | idk1 wrote:
         | I would say it's more about accessibility of the store and what
         | you can do with the device. There's not many games you can play
         | on the Apple Watch, not many TV channel apps to download, I
         | expect it's more to do with that than users of the device. They
         | may well have sold more Apple Watches, but the Apple TV has
         | sold less and there's more TV App Store users. This is totally
         | over the top, but just as an example, what if 1% of Apple Watch
         | users use the Watch App Store and 75% of Apple TV users use the
         | Apple TV App Store.
        
         | theseanstewart wrote:
         | > Second only to a Nvidia Shield Pro downgraded to 8.2.3
         | firmware.
         | 
         | What's special about 8.2.3 vs the latest firmware? I've only
         | owned my Shield for a few months so I'm curious what I may be
         | missing.
        
           | radicaldreamer wrote:
           | I think its about external storage: https://www.reddit.com/r/
           | ShieldAndroidTV/comments/yjt6aq/wha...
           | 
           | Not really relevant if you're mostly streaming on the box or
           | streaming locally from a file/plex server
        
           | 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
           | I'm not sure either, are they referring to the shitty new
           | home screen courtesy of Google? That comes in separate of the
           | firmware.
        
         | DRW_ wrote:
         | >I'm surprised there are more Apple TV users than Apple watch
         | users.
         | 
         | I don't think these stats suggest that there are more Apple TV
         | users than Apple watch users.
         | 
         | They say more people use the App Store on tvOS than use the App
         | Store on Apple Watch.
         | 
         | As an Apple Watch user, I'm not surprised by that all. Why
         | would I want to browse the app store directly on my watch?
         | That's annoying and cumbersome. I do it on my phone, it's
         | quicker and easier and therefore I assume that'd be counted as
         | iOS app store usage.
         | 
         | And I also reckon most Apple Watch apps people use are
         | companions to apps they installed on their iPhone anyway,
         | rather than Apple Watch only apps.
        
           | radicaldreamer wrote:
           | Spot on, nobody uses the App Store on the Apple Watch, most
           | people either never use third-party apps on the watch or only
           | use companion apps which are installed alongside iOS apps
        
             | ericpauley wrote:
             | Wow, TIL there's an app store on the watch...
        
             | karmelapple wrote:
             | I had zero idea there was an App Store on the Apple Watch
             | until this thread. There's some neat apps listed on there -
             | glad everyone in this thread talked about this!
        
               | mk89 wrote:
               | Let me guess, you're using the grid view? :)
        
             | rootusrootus wrote:
             | Family setup Apple watches are the most likely situation
             | where people are browsing the app store from their watch.
             | No companion iPhone.
        
         | Hamuko wrote:
         | It's much cheaper. Especially the non-4K models were dirt cheap
         | for Apple products.
        
         | ryanfreeborn wrote:
         | Purely anecdotal but I know way more TVs with an Apple TV
         | device than I know humans with an Apple watch. In most cases
         | they are households with many TV-Apple TV pairings, and maybe
         | one or two people in the household have an Apple watch.
        
           | scarface74 wrote:
           | Apple sells far more watches than AppleTVs by every estimate
           | that you can find.
        
         | tpmx wrote:
         | Apple TV (the hardware, not the streaming service) is so
         | underappreciated. The smooth task switching alone makes it
         | worth a buy. I think it's severely undermarketed.
         | 
         | And the old touch remote that so many people hated.. I like it
         | so much.
         | 
         | (Haven't tried the newest remote that has a combined
         | d-pad/touch area because of troglodyte customer feedback ( ;) )
         | but I suspect I will hate it since the touchpad area is so much
         | smaller.)
        
         | anonymouse008 wrote:
         | Wow, they may 'sell' millions in the market, but many end up in
         | a drawer, or rarely seen as anything other than a wrist worn
         | notification device. This information is beautiful! Reaffirms
         | the true value of these things.
         | 
         | (Well that, or the metric is truly skewed not including
         | companion apps - though that would feel disingenuous)
        
           | stirlo wrote:
           | Most apple watch apps are installed and managed through the
           | watch app on your iPhone not from the app store on the apple
           | watch itself. I just checked and I've never even opened the
           | app store app on my watch but I have configured dozens of 3rd
           | party apps using the Watch app on my iPhone.
        
           | vezuchyy wrote:
           | I don't have Apple Watch, but have Garmin. I used the store
           | once during the initial setup and I don't see why it should
           | be different for AW users.
        
             | Jtsummers wrote:
             | A lot of Watch apps also get installed through the attached
             | iPhone when you install the associated iPhone app. I think
             | it was the default, I turned it off, to have "Automatic
             | Downloads" on for apps. So if that's still the default (or
             | the present setting for the watch) then if you download
             | Strava for iPhone you'll get Strava on your Apple Watch
             | without ever touching the Watch App Store.
        
               | izacus wrote:
               | But it's still Watch App Store which installed and
               | delivered the app right? And the developers must use it
               | to give you the application?
               | 
               | Just because you didn't open the UI it doesn't mean the
               | developers weren't forced to go through that app store to
               | reach you.
        
         | mostlysimilar wrote:
         | I don't find this surprising. Apple TV probably has nearly 100%
         | penetration of app store usage, you download your streaming
         | apps as a necessity (Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+ are all apps).
         | 
         | Meanwhile there's almost zero useful watchOS apps. The device
         | is great out of the box and doesn't need much else.
        
         | plufz wrote:
         | > I'm surprised there are more Apple TV users than Apple watch
         | users
         | 
         | Anecdotal but everyone in my proximity that uses apple products
         | have an apple tv. My mother, my father, etc. Very few have an
         | apple watch. That's like me and my developer friends or friends
         | who are more nerdy about workout.
        
         | babypuncher wrote:
         | You can thank me. I've been shilling the ATV to any friends or
         | family I hear complain about their Roku/Fire Stick/smart TV.
         | 
         | I went through literally all of them before getting an ATV,
         | even the Shield, because for a long time I refused to believe
         | Apple could make a good TV experience.
        
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