Rather than keep the back and forth going on TechCrunch, or leaving a comment that will be one of probably 500, I figured I’d do a quick response to Jason’s response to my Apple subscription posts here.

Jason brings up some good points, but his post is ultimately flawed for two very important reasons above all else: competition and change.

First of all, the post is written as if Apple has already won. In other words, it totally downplays the competition that is out there. Ultimately, that’s the only thing that holds any company, be it Apple or Google or anyone else, in check. 

He says that Apple benefits from consumer lock-in because it’s hard to switch from iOS to Android. But it’s really not that hard. Jason himself did it. Are existing apps a deterrent? Sure. But ultimately, if you’re getting screwed, you’re going to leave. Regardless of if you’ve spent $50 on apps or not. 

More importantly, as Jason himself notes later in the post, “iOS is still in its infancy”. So let’s say there is a small percentage of the current iOS population that gets fed up and wants to leave. That’s still peanuts compared to where this is all headed.

Right now, there are 15 million iPad users out there. In the coming years, there will be hundreds of millions of tablet users. If the changes Apple made yesterday are bad for users and developers, the market will decide and the tide will shift heavily towards a competitor. 

And that’s the other key: change.

The underlying tone of Jason’s post is that he really seems to believe that Apple is making these changes to be hostile in some way. As if that would actually be beneficial to them in any way.

The reality, of course, is that this is all about business. That means three things, and they’re all very directly related: controlling your product, pleasing your users, and making money. This latest change, like just about everything else Apple does, is about finding the right balance between all three. In the past several years, I’d argue that no company is better at finding that balance than Apple. 

Ultimately, for any company in a capitalist society, making money is paramount. But you cannot divorce that goal from keeping your customers happy. The two are intertwined. If you fail at the latter, you’ll fail at the former, and your company will ultimately die.

I happen to agree that a 30 percent cut is too high. But all of the criticisms seem to be written on the basis that this is set in stone. Crazier is the notion that Apple wouldn’t change something if it isn’t working. Of course they will!

If the 30 percent rate proves to be too high, Apple will change it. They’re not idiots. They’re not going to allow their company and ecosystem to crumble around them in order to make money that will still ultimately be negligible to the bottom line they’ve built up over the years. 

I understand why there’s a lot of rage over this topic right now. But I bet that time will prove it to be a bunch of bluster.

It’s time to take a deep breath and calm down and realize what is ultimately common sense: Apple is not going to destroy the empire they’ve built over a relatively small feature. If they have to change, they’ll change. And the market will dictate that. It really is that simple.

[image: flickr/orangeacid]