> The notion that Google and Apple are in competition with one another in this context is false, because to distribute to Android customers you need Google and to distribute to iOS customers you need Apple.
It is still competition even in this context, it just happens on a slightly slower cadence. The Apple customers, by and large, are paying good money to avoid Google's app store because they believe Apple is a better steward on net.
Every time I buy a phone I have to ask if Apple's bad software decisions outweigh the costs of signing up with Google. So far the answer has been one sided in Apple's favour. Consideration of things like this with Patreon come up at phone purchase time.
> It is still competition even in this context, it just happens on a slightly slower cadence. The Apple customers, by and large, are paying good money to avoid Google's app store because they believe Apple is a better steward on net.
You're looking at a different market. The customer in this context is Patreon and the product is app distribution. Patreon needs a way to distribute their app to all of their customers. Many of their customers have iOS, so Patreon needs app distribution to customers with iOS, and there is only one supplier of that.
It is still competition even in this context, it just happens on a slightly slower cadence. The Apple customers, by and large, are paying good money to avoid Google's app store because they believe Apple is a better steward on net.
Every time I buy a phone I have to ask if Apple's bad software decisions outweigh the costs of signing up with Google. So far the answer has been one sided in Apple's favour. Consideration of things like this with Patreon come up at phone purchase time.