Power

Obviously I don't have much sympathy for Uber and clearly Apple was correct here, but Apple shouldn't have the power to destroy companies. Which they do. And the dynamic is also a problem because most companies Apple decide is Bad don't get a call from Tim Cook, they get yanked from the App Store by some staffer.

For months, Mr. Kalanick had pulled a fast one on Apple by directing his employees to help camouflage the ride-hailing app from Apple’s engineers. The reason? So Apple would not find out that Uber had secretly been tracking iPhones even after its app had been deleted from the devices, violating Apple’s privacy guidelines.

But Apple was on to the deception, and when Mr. Kalanick arrived at the midafternoon meeting sporting his favorite pair of bright red sneakers and hot-pink socks, Mr. Cook was prepared. “So, I’ve heard you’ve been breaking some of our rules,” Mr. Cook said in his calm, Southern tone. Stop the trickery, Mr. Cook then demanded, or Uber’s app would be kicked out of Apple’s App Store.

Or to put it another way, it's a problem that Apple can destroy Uber, but it's also a problem that they didn't.