Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Welcome to another edition of Tech x Policy. 

Which side of the iOS vs Android debate do you owe your allegiance to? 

I say allegiance, because if you are unlucky enough to be stuck somewhere with the wrong sort of crowd, any debate surrounding this is almost guaranteed to devolve into basic tribal warfare. (You know who you are, and yes, I’m looking at you!)

In my experience, though, I’ve seen that Apple usually wins most battles here—except on two counts: 

“It’s so expensive!” 

“You can’t use anything else with it but Apple stuff!” 

Well, it looks like at least one of those things is finally starting to change. In today’s edition, Soumyajit looks at what it means for a long-standing section of Apple’s garden-wall to come down. 

Let’s dive in.

Apple’s momentous sideloading decision won’t be a cure-all

By Soumyajit Saha

Every time I have to write or talk about Apple’s famous “walled garden” ecosystem, I’m tempted to throw in some Robert Frost. I mean, the American poet has some solid pointers on wall-building—if you are the introspective kind. 

Apple, of course, is a firm believer in the utility of walls. Apps? Payments? Hardware? Wall them all. That’s been its operating principle for a long time. 

And so far, it’s largely worked for it. Probably because if you ask any Apple product user, and with the recent spurt in Apple sales that is a growing number in India, you’re guaranteed to hear some version of: “It’s so seamless!” or “I don’t even have to click anything!”. Even if it costs a car mortgage’s worth to actually acquire enough Apple devices to truly enjoy all the benefits of that ecosystem.

Apple has immensely benefited from the efficiency of its integrated devices. And the software it sells to run them. 

The iPhone is often the gateway drug, retailers I speak to tell me, leading to accessories like the AirPods or the Apple watch, and then onto the iPad or the Mac. This phenomenon is so common that retailers often forego making margins on iPhone sales—it helps them fight deep e-commerce discounts, and they make good margins on Apple accessories and insurance sales. Which turns them into eager guides leading newbie Apple users down the accessories rabbit-hole.

Pushing a user deeper into its ecosystem also helps Apple’s software offerings. And software brings in good money—in the year ended September 2022, Apple’s services revenues, which included revenues from the likes of its App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud services, amounted to US$78 billion, roughly a fifth of its total revenues.