Wired
Apple will open developers to provide users with paid purchase options inside and outside the iOS app, and increase developer-provided price points for paid subscriptions, in-app purchases and paid apps. In addition, it will also set up a small developer assistance of US$100 million. Fund to assist small developers affected by the epidemic.
At the same time, it will also provide more opportunities to increase revenue for journalists in various regions
Apple announced that it will reach a settlement with app developers in the United States that filed a class action lawsuit in the past. It also promised to adjust the business model of the App Store and give app developers more flexibility in advertising and app price setting. Announced the establishment of a $100 million small developer assistance fund (Apple Small Developer Assistance Fund) to assist small developers to maintain their development during the impact of the epidemic.
This lawsuit started in 2019. Many developers in the United States filed a lawsuit in the court, accusing Apple of charging up to 30% of the revenue share in the App Store to violate the market monopoly, and subsequent U.S. lawmakers questioned the involvement of Apple’s software market service App Store. Monopoly, forcing consumers to use services only at high fees, violates the US federal antitrust law.
In an earlier statement, Apple stated that it would adjust the way the App Store operates and use this to reach a settlement with developers in the United States.
The operating model of the App Store will be adjusted, and the content of the app is no longer limited and must be paid through the Apple mechanism
Among them, Apple will open developers to provide users with paid purchase options inside and outside the iOS app. At the same time, it will increase developer-provided price points for paid subscriptions, in-app purchases and paid apps. In addition, it will also set up a small development of US$100 million. Developer Assistance Fund to assist small developers affected by the epidemic.
In the application conditions of the small developer assistance fund, as long as it is created through its developer account during the period from June 4, 2015 to April 26, 2021, and at the same time, the annual revenue of the App Store in the United States is less than 1 million US dollars App can be applied for, and Apple is expected to be able to assist up to 99% of developers in the United States, allowing each developer to apply for subsidies ranging from US$250 to US$30,000 depending on the proportion.
In the follow-up confirmation, Apple stated that this adjustment will be applied to the App Store service in the global region, not only to the App Store in the United States. As for the small developer assistance fund, it is currently only available to developers in the United States and not available to developers worldwide.
According to the content of the settlement agreement, Apple will maintain the same discounts for small developers for at least 3 years, including maintaining only a 15% profit share for small developers whose annual revenue is less than $1 million in the App Store. And large developers such as Netflix, Spotify and other industries maintain a revenue share ranging from 30%.
At the same time, developers can also explain to users through e-mail and other methods of payment methods other than the iOS app, that is, developers can charge users through the App Store or payment channels inside and outside the iOS app without having to pay to Apple Pay any commission fees, and users can reserve the right to choose to pay through the App Store, iOS app, or through other channels.
In addition, for subscriptions, in-app payments, and paid downloads of apps, Apple allows developers to increase the number of price points that developers can provide from less than 100 to more than 500. At the same time, it maintains that developers can set their own prices, which means developers Can attract users to pay for purchases with more flexible price settings.
If the developer has rejected the app’s application for listing and believes that there is an unfair situation, he can also file an appeal. At the same time, he can learn about the appeal process through the content of the App Review website. Apple also emphasizes that it will continue to publish App Store-related updates through its official website, and will also share statistics related to the app review process through the annual transparency report, including the number of apps that have been rejected for various reasons, as well as the suspension of developer accounts and users. The number of accounts, in addition to objective statistics on search and query results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store.
However, this agreement statement still needs to be approved by the court trial judge, and it is also uncertain whether this adjustment will affect the development of the previous court litigation between EPIC Games and Apple.
In addition to app content, Apple also provides additional revenue opportunities for journalists and for news partners. Apple also proposes a new cooperation plan. As long as it conforms to the Apple News Format (ANF) format, users can read it on Apple’s “News” service. Content, news content providers can get 15% commission from eligible news app subscriptions. Apple expects that this new plan will help provide journalists with more revenue channels and achieve a win-win situation for all parties. However, this plan will be provided in accordance with applicable regions. The reason is that Apple News Service is currently only implemented in certain regions, and different regions will have different usage specifications. Therefore, this plan will be mainly applicable in the United States at this stage. . 