Apple’s App Store and Other Digital Marketplaces [PDF]

Apple sponsored a study to compare commission rates charged by popular digital marketplaces (which includes the App Store, but also Uber, Airbnb, Etsy, Roku, Steam, and so on).

• Yes, sounds like 30% is the benchmark today for pretty much everyone.
• No, this isn’t going to do anything to address the underlying developer protest over why any app store is worth a 30% cut (even if they might have been in the past).

As evidence of the second point, yesterday saw some interesting whiplash on Hacker News: two of the day’s most popular comment threads were an [incorrect] report that Apple keeps their 30% cut even after a refund, and then the follow-up correction that no, they actually don’t do that anymore.

Issue 11 • Jul 31st 2020

Apple Will Let Content Apps Like Netflix, Spotify Link to Their Websites to Sign Up Users

This has been hanging in the air ever since Apple's settlement with the Japan Fair Trade Commission last fall.

It sounds big on the surface, but read the details and you'll see Apple is basically playing the 'take my toys and go home' card. Per the documentation page, some of the restrictions required for an app to use this new option:

• Not offer in-app purchases on iOS or iPadOS while using the External Link Account Entitlement (means: you can add this link if you want to, but then you can do only this).
• Open a new window in the default browser on the device, and may not open a web view (means: artificial friction to make sure the user knows the web and app experiences are separate).
• Be formatted like a standard HTML link (i.e., blue underlined text) and contain the domain name of the website (means: no CTA buttons or anything flashy).
• Link to a website you own or have responsibility for (means: don't even think about using your single link as a back-door into enabling something like this).

Also, Apple is requiring apps to show a scary-looking fullscreen warning to users before sending them to the website destination — you can see the mockup on this page, about half-way down.

Issue 38 • Apr 10th 2022

Apple will allow Dutch dating apps to use other payment options within existing apps

In related news, Apple finally blinked in its ongoing dispute with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets.

Brief recap:

1. Back in February, the Dutch antitrust authority found Apple's rules to be anti-competitive and ordered changes.
2. In response, Apple grudgingly announced some plans.
3. The Dutch authority clearly felt those initial plans weren't sufficient, and began assessing a €5m/week fine. This has been going on ever since.

The newest development: now Apple announced its plans no longer include requiring a completely separate app just for the Netherlands. Still unchanged: a required pre-payment warning modal (very similar to the example above), and a 27% commission rate with mandatory audit rights to Apple.

The ACM hasn't indicated yet whether it considers this satisfactory…so the drama continues for at least a little while longer.

Issue 38 • Apr 10th 2022