Apple's App Store Free Lunch: Who's Paying for the Ecosystem?

Apple's App Store boasts of generating trillions in billings and sales for developers, yet a significant majority pay zero commission. However, a small minority, particularly indie developers, are burdened with hefty in-app purchase (IAP) fees, sparking controversy. The author argues Apple leverages IAP to force a select few to subsidize the entire ecosystem, including 'free' apps generating billions through ads or other means—a blatant 'free lunch' scenario. The article questions the fairness and rationale behind this practice, suggesting Apple's profitability stems from hardware sales, not developer commissions, and ultimately accusing Apple of exploiting a small subset of developers.