What? How do you think they support developing the OS, running security, notarizing and reviewing your apps etc.
This needs to be funded somehow.
I'm surprised there are commenters who have such a strong view - that they should just be able to access all the benefits of the iOS ecosystem that Apple has built over many years, and then have all that access for free too.
Apple sells hardware. They don't give away software for free, you (generally) need their hardware per their licensing agreements.
You have to pay Apple $99/year to develop software for their ecosystem.
I pay them for their hardware, I pay them to let me write software -- you want me to pay them when others use my software? What about when others view photos I take with my phone? Do they want a cut of that too?
How anyone can think Apple's stance here is reasonable is beyond me. I haven't paid Microsoft anything in over a decade, I wonder how they can afford to fund Windows development?
This needs to be funded somehow.
I'm surprised there are commenters who have such a strong view - that they should just be able to access all the benefits of the iOS ecosystem that Apple has built over many years, and then have all that access for free too.