In today’s tech world, being adaptable and agile is key to surviving and staying ahead of the competition. Apple has somehow defied those norms and come out the other side unscathed. Now, it looks like the Cupertino company is trying its luck again. Apple is filing an appeal against a judge’s rule that would have forced the company to change how it charges developers a commission from the App Store.
Appealing the ruling
If you’re learning about this for the first time, US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ruled that Apple would have to stop charging developers commission fees in some situations. This would have resulted in quite a substantial loss in revenue for Apple, which currently takes a 27% commission on in-app purchases made outside of Apple’s own App Store.
This means that if you downloaded an app like Netflix or Spotify, but the app directs you to sign up and pay for a subscription through its own website rather than Apple’s App Store payment system, Apple would still take a cut of those fees, regardless. This was a highly contentious issue, which would have ended if the judge’s ruling had stuck.
However, Apple is now appealing that ruling. If the appeal is successful, Apple could emerge victorious.
The issue with Apple’s commission
For the longest time, Apple and other companies like Google took a cut from sales in their respective app stores. This cut was around 30%, and it covered sales from app purchases and in-app purchases. This angered many developers who felt that the cut was too big. Epic, the developer behind Fortnite, took particular issue with this.
When it launched on mobile, the game raked in $300 million within the first year. However, the cut that went to Apple and Google meant that Epic was losing $100 million. This led to a huge lawsuit, which Epic basically won. It also forced Apple to change certain things about its App Store.
For instance, in the EU, users can now access third-party app stores on their iPhones and iPads. Apple is also being forced to accept third-party payment systems.
