i have been an android user for 10 years. just got an iPad. i've been wrestling with submitting a flutter app, long ago approved on android, to iOS. it keeps getting rejected. it's frustrating. everyone's talking about iOS/epic so here are my thoughts as a first-time user and dev

this is an mvp. just trying to get it out the door to see if it's worth putting more time into. but it's just reject reject reject. it feels developer hostile. launch screen has to gracefully match the app. can't link to a website where users can pay you. error here. error there.

they got mad the app name is also a domain name, because that "sends users" there. but it's the name of the product.

i don't even link ANYWHERE now, or tell ppl they can pay. but still it gets rejected for allowing people to pay me, but not through apple pay.

this was accepted to the google play store MONTHS ago. i just want to iterate. but i cant.

i am honestly fine with the apple pay cut. i am just not ready to commit the effort to building it. it's an mvp and idk if people will like it, just let me see!

but during all this i've been playing with my iPad. and after all this. i have to say. it pains me. but. i think i get it.

i hate it as a dev.

but as a user. the apps feel so "part of" the OS. they don't feel like they were written by others. and that makes me feel safe.

my data feels like part of my device, not like part of google.

and i trust my device to manage my payment and location etc. data, because it is mine. i own it.

and i think that feeling is not strong enough that people will voice it, or fight for it. but it is a good feeling. and it only comes with control. control by a representative you trust, over parties you don't. you don't know me, i'm just a random dev. but you know apple.

through them you can trust me, but only because they so heavily control what i can publish. i can't send you to my sketchy site. or even my non-sketchy site, which i later replace with a sketchy one.

you might say but choice is always good, if you don't feel safe then you have the choice not to do the sketchy thing.

hard disagree. i have the choice to not eat ice cream but i still do when i shouldn't. easier to say no at the grocery store than while staring into the freezer.

and i can now totally understand people who say no at the grocery store. by buying something they have less control over, they gain the ability to trust every action they can take on their device.

i still hate it as a dev. & it's still not my cup of tea as a user. but i think i get it. i'm happy there are two platforms, and i'm happy they're different in this way. if i ever switch, this will be a big factor in favor of iOS.

(but for now i'm sticking with android)