Apple Slashes App Store Fees in Half for Most Developers

Apple Inc. is cutting by half the fees charged to most developers who sell software and services on the App Store, marking the biggest change to the store’s revenue structure since the iPhone maker launched the service in 2008. That wasn’t enough for some developers.

The company is lowering the App Store fee to 15% from 30% for developers who produce as much as $1 million in annual revenue from their apps and those who are new to the store. The change will go into effect Jan. 1 as part of an App Store Small Business Program, Apple said Wednesday. The new structure will apply to the “vast majority” of developers who charge for apps and in-app purchases on Apple’s devices, according to a statement. It won’t affect major apps, such as those from Netflix Inc. and Spotify Technology SA.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said it’s making the change to help small developers financially and to provide a way for them to invest in their businesses amid the economic struggles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apple has faced ongoing scrutiny from government regulators and criticism from developers about the percentage of revenue it takes for App Store purchases. The company also is engaged in a lawsuit with Epic Games Inc., the maker of the video game Fortnite, over its App Store fees and payment rules. Alphabet Inc.’s Google also charges similar fees to developers on its Android app store.

The changes failed to appease one of the more vocal small developers who relies on Apple’s ecosystem. “If you’re a developer making $1m, Apple is STILL asking to be paid $150,000, just to process payments on the monopoly computing platform in the US. That’s obscene!” Basecamp Chief Technology Officer David Heinemeier Hansson wrote on Twitter.

In June, Apple blocked an update to Basecamp’s Hey email app after the developer refused to implement a way to sign up in the app, which would have given Apple up to 30% of its revenue from the App Store. After the developer complained publicly, Apple said the app could stay as long as it followed other app-review guidelines.

The EU is probing Apple for forcing software developers to use its in-app payment system, which effectively imposes its fees on many services using the App Store to reach consumers. While officials have said they aren’t targeting the amount that Apple charges, the focus on the payment system could also compel Apple to offer alternative payments providers to developers. The EU said its investigation is ongoing and declined to comment further.

Spotify, which competes with the Apple Music streaming service and has complained about the App Store’s fees and rules, called Wednesday’s changes “window dressing” that should be ignored by antitrust regulators.

“This latest move further demonstrates that their App Store policies are arbitrary and capricious,” a Spotify spokesman said. “While we find their fees to be excessive and discriminatory, Apple’s tying of its own payment system to the App Store and the communications restrictions it uses to punish developers who choose not to use it, put apps like Spotify at a significant disadvantage to their own competing service.”

Income from app developers has been key to Apple’s growing services business, which reached almost $54 billion in revenue in fiscal 2020. The App Store is one of several products and offerings that make up the services unit, but is the biggest revenue driver, according to Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein. He estimates the App Store alone will bring in $18.7 billion in 2021, about a third of Apple’s total services revenue next year.

Apple has said there are 1.8 million apps in the App Store across all of the company’s platforms and more than 28 million registered developers. The company said earlier this year the store has generated $155 billion for developers since it started.

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Tim Cook said, “The App Store has been an engine of economic growth like none other.”

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