Apple Outsmarts Court, Upsets Judge Regarding Third Party App Payments
I am surprised Apple was able to outmaneuver not only their detractors (who desired to use a third-party payment alternative) but the courts as well, who are pressuring Apple to comply with developer requests.
“It sounds to me as if the goal was to then maintain the business model and revenue you had in the past,” [US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez] Rogers said to an Apple executive during a multi-day hearing to address Epic's complaint that the iPhone maker isn't abiding by the terms of a corrective order the judge issued in 2021.
Apple said in January that it would would let all third-party apps sold in the US include an outside link to a developer website to process payments for in-app purchases. Since then, Apple has received just 38 applications for outside links out of an estimated 65,000 app developers that offer in-app purchases, company executives testified.
The reason: Apple will charge a 27% fee to developers who want to use the link entitlement program — and when combined with payment processing fees, the total is even more than the 30% the App Store has taken for itself for years, the judge was told at the hearing in Oakland, California. (Bloomberg)
Apple will probably try this same trick with the European Union 🇪🇺 in Europe, forcing numerous nations across multiple continents to create new laws to force the Cupertino giant to comply with the intent of their legal rulings.
However, unless governments pass laws dictating exactly how much of a percentage mobile stores can charge, it is unlikely that companies like Apple will comply, as they have nothing to gain by reducing the percentage fee for large developers.
Instead of waiting for the legal system to save them, developers should continue to charge a higher price in the App Store, & provide a discounted price online. If customers discover they can save money by paying directly online, the app developers will keep 100% of the money instead of losing a third to Apple.
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