> THE SHIFT
MATT BOLTON thinks COVID should bring back some classics from the Apple vault, but maybe with some smart new features
I
TRIED TO write this column about Apple’s App Store controversies, but every time I finished a draft, news came out that made it redundant, so I gave up. Here’s my short(ish) view: Apple’s approach to the App Store has barely changed since 2008, but the world has changed drastically. The iPhone used to be a minor software platform, now it’s the world’s most valuable software platform. That makes Apple judge, jury and executioner over what new ideas and services can survive (including those that compete with Apple itself, a clear conflict of interest). And Apple not only has an unbreakable legal and technological power over the App Store, but it’s also the richest company in the world. If this were a company in a story, we’d find it dystopian. If it were any other firm in real life, we’d be terrified of its power. Something needs to change, not because I worry Apple is about to become a dictator, but as a matter of principle.