There's no middle-ground that makes Apple happy. Their goal is to have their cake and eat it too, which regulators won't allow. It's basically guaranteed at Apple's scale that they will keep pushing new pricing schemes until the threats to their profit are substantial enough. Over the next few months, we're going to watch regulators inch down the guillotine until Apple finally settles in on something reasonable.

Shame indeed, but I'm fine letting Apple get it out of their system. Their public image is long overdue for a reset anyways.