From next year, Apple will halve the commission it asks for smaller app developers. These are app builders whose turnover is up to $ 1 million per year. The decision comes at a time when Apple’s policies within its download store are increasingly under fire over the power it has through the App Store.
Now it is true that if a customer buys an app, or makes a purchase in the app itself, the developer has to pay 30 percent. So this will be 15 percent. That can quickly yield a lot for developers.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our global economy and the beating heart of innovation,” said CEO Tim Cook in a commentary. “With this program, we want to help small business owners write the next chapter of prosperity in the App Store.”
5 percent of sales
According to research firm Sensor Tower, the measure applies to 98 percent of developers who pay commission. An important note is that they only account for 5 percent of total App Store sales.
It is therefore a very strategic move for Apple, which does not cost the company that much. According to the agency, the App Store generated a turnover of nearly 50 billion euros between January 1 and October 31 of this year; where Apple saves billions.
The scheme therefore does not apply to developers who generate more than $ 1 million in revenue from the App Store per year. At the same time, these are precisely the parties with which Apple is at odds. Fortnite maker Epic, for example, has started a lawsuit against Apple, the company mainly agitates against the commission costs. Sensor Tower has calculated that from January 1 to the ban in August of this year, Fortnite generated 246 million euros in revenue for Epic.
The European Commission has this summer an investigation to possible abuse of power by Apple through the App Store, something Spotify has demanded a lot of attention. In any case, that company will also rise above that limit.
The developer of an email app that was at odds with Apple earlier this year, responds critically via Twitter:
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