The Apple v Epic lawsuit is ongoing (recap: Fortnite tried to enable in-app purchases without going through the App Store framework, and got kicked off the platform by Apple in response), and it's bringing to light some very interesting details.
This thread is FULL of fascinating scoops, but the clear theme is that Epic wants to demonstrate that the App Store's benefits aren't worth Apple's 30% commission.
Google will reduce Play Store cut to 15 percent for a developer’s first $1M in annual revenue
Google is responding to Apple's App Store Small Business Program, which reduces the App Store commission to 15% for select developers (with some fairly strict limits and caveats). However, Google is upping the ante in the process: their new Play Store program applies to the first $1 million in earnings for all developers.
This handily avoids the 'revenue cliff' problem some iOS developers face, where they suddenly find themselves out of the Small Business program and subject to a flat 30% fee for slightly exceeding the cutoff.
Both policies are obviously good news, but Google's seems simpler and less likely to lead to unpleasant surprises.
tl;dr: state of ads in chatbots
Confused about the state of advertising in AI chatbots? Me too. I researched the latest, so you don’t have to:
Their Businesses Went Virtual. Then Apple Wanted a Cut.
At the risk of going overboard this week on the topic of App Store commissions, here’s a perfect illustration of the system’s quirks: COVID has forced business models to adapt, and formerly-offline activities like gym classes are now online gym classes.
…which suddenly makes payments for them subject to Apple’s 30%.
