> I would think the OS, the hardware, the payments, the reviews, the App Store, etc.?
But it's not like Epic is selling that, or asking Apple to allow them to have their own manufacturing plant for iPhones, is it?
The iPhone is an instruction-executing machine. That's what people buy. Epic wants to offer a specific set of instructions that people who already use the iPhone can execute. Why should Epic have to go through Apple to do it, if there's nothing in that machine that would prevent Epic from doing it on their own, besides artificial limitations which only have that specific purpose?
Unless you are entering into a contract with a mobile career, that is the only thing you purchase.
If you want to get into metaphorical lines of speech about how you buy into an ecosystem and all that, go ahead. But the legal reallity is that when buying an iPhone, you buy an iPhone, and it's yours. Same as any other standard purchase for any physical good.
I think the 30% cut is ridiculous but it's a give and take for both companies.