Apple is not known for changing its business practices to its own disadvantage. This makes the news that the company wants to adjust the conditions in favor of app developers with innovations in the App Store all the more surprising.
The App Store has repeatedly caused Apple trouble in the past. Be it the legal dispute with video game developer Epic Games or the class action lawsuit by app developers.
In recent months, Apple has received an increasing number of lawsuits from app developers. They considered the conditions in the App Store to be anti-competitive.
Now the iPhone company has surprisingly relented and announced various groundbreaking innovations for its App Store.
The innovations in the App Store
The proposed changes for the App Store are primarily intended to save Apple from a strict landmark ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers at the Federal District Court in Oakland.
According to an Apple announcement, developers will be allowed to offer payment methods outside of the Apple platform and promote them to customers.
Apple is also deviating from its own fee model: in the future, app developers will be able to charge their own price levels; Apple no longer wants to prescribe these in the future.
But that’s not all. Apple has also announced that it will set up a fund for developers to support them in their work.
The developers have already agreed to the compromise, now only the judge’s approval is missing. It is not yet clear when the changes in the App Store will be implemented.
Effects for Apple
For the iPhone company, the innovations should have a direct impact on sales. The App Store is a rich source of revenue for the company.
According to estimates, Apple will have generated gross revenue of $72.3 billion from its App Store in 2020. By comparison, the competing Google Play Store will only generate 38.6 billion US dollars in the same period.
These enormous revenues are, of course, based on the business model that Apple has pursued so far.
It is not known how much money Apple actually makes with its App Store. But the company has been charging app developers a commission of 30 percent.
If this is lower in the future, it can be assumed that the innovations in the App Store will have a negative impact on the company’s business figures.
