
Ask HN: Why does apple still charges $99/yr for App developers - totaldude87
A trillion dollar company charging $99 for each of its app developers? what is the actual deal with that charge?
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PaulHoule
It can.

It proves the developers are serious. It is like how you have to put some
chips in the pot to participate in a poker hand.

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z3t4
Imagine a graph with y=developers and x=cost how does the curve look? (Will it
look like a tipping c or \ ) What will happen if they lower or increase the
cost? Then draw another line y=developers * cost. The lines likely intersect
at $99/yr.

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PaulHoule
A problem with that is that Apple does not need to optimize supply and demand
for the developer's program because they have many source of revenue such as
hardware, subscriptons, media, and a cut of app sales.

If they felt desperate for more devs they could give developer subs away for
free, or even pay people to make apps as Microsoft tried.

Business strategy for a platform company is all about deciding who to get
revenue from and (often) who to subsidize. Apple does not need to subsidize
anyone because they are established, but Uber does.

