Stage 3: Cashing in · Devices & stores

The only way to install apps on most iPhones: a safe, curated store that also takes up to 30% and fought court orders to keep it that way.

Android's default store: more open than Apple's, but forced to cut fees only by court order, and tightening control over sideloaded apps.

Printers sold cheap and recovered through ink: firmware that blocks third-party cartridges and subscription ink that stops working when you cancel.

Amazon's doorbell cameras: convenient security that needs a subscription for recordings, and an ongoing push to turn neighborhood footage into a surveillance network.

Premium multi-room speakers whose 2024 app rewrite broke features owners had paid for; years later the company is still cutting staff and rebuilding trust.