I share your frustration. I’m an Apple user and absolutely dislike everything about their direction regarding software. I have nothing but criticism for Tim Cook. Yet I see myself having to correct batshit lies people make about Apple to have a proper discussion. There’s no need to make shit up (and doing so gives Apple the opportunity to outright dismiss those as haters), Apple makes a lot of crappy decisions we can criticise in good faith.
I can give you examples. Just the other day I was updating an API that has been deprecated for a decade and a half but still worked. I never had to update a deprecated API in macOS, though I do. Maybe I got lucky in the ones I use, but either way the point stands.
> The time that an “App Store” existed and didn’t have adverts was very minimal.
The iOS App Store was introduced in 2008. Ads in it began in 2016. We’re in 2026. The App Store has had ads for longer than it didn’t, but the early period was not “very minimal”, it was almost half its current life time.
Did ads on search appear in 2016? I vaguely remember the change to the “curated” pages with ads but I thought searching for a specific app and getting an ad for it (or something else) before the first search result was even newer.
Of course they are. It was obvious from day one that ads were going to be shoved in. At first they’ll be obvious and clearly separated, then they’ll influence the responses you get without you even knowing. I can’t fathom why anyone ever believed that wouldn’t be the case.
I agree, and my experience is the same as yours. However…
> This makes no difference
It makes no difference to us personally, but it does make a large difference to other people, many of whom may be friends and/or family we support. And it is another step in the shit road Apple is walking on, which will continue to affect us.
There are obvious exceptions, like for example updating certificates, but otherwise I’m with you. Or I was, for many years, until the release of Liquid Glass. Now fixing bugs is no longer enough, the OS has become an abomination. I’ll avoid “upgrading” for as long as possible, then I’ll probably have to abandon Apple platforms forever.
> the only reason they don't is because that would make you not buy their product and falsehoods.
I’ve seen enough people defend these companies and their billionaire CEOs often and fervently enough, even in response to news that unilaterally fuck customers, that I’m not convinced people would stop buying even in your scenario.
I’m not the person you asked, but what I’d say is that comparing two turds isn’t really meaningful. Sure, maybe one of the turds doesn’t have such a strong smell or has fewer flies, but it’s still a turd.
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