Apple Tries Again With E.U. App Distribution Policies ⇥ developer.apple.com
The European Commission has required Apple to make a series of additional changes under the Digital Markets Act: […]
The wording of this sentence makes it sound like the list of specific policies following it were dictated by the European Commission, but I am not sure that is true.
John Voorhees, MacStories:
Fees have changed for developers offering external purchases, too, and include:
an initial acquisition fee of 2% is charged for sales made within six months of a user’s first unpaid installation of an app;
a 5% or 13% store services fee depending on the store services used for any purchases made within 12 months of an app’s download;
for apps that offer external purchases, a Core Technology Commission (not Fee) of 5% for purchases made within 12 months of installation will be charged;
[…]
Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:
For developers on Apple’s standard business terms in the EU, there is a new Core Technology Commission. Instead of the per-install fee, they will pay a 5% commission on sales made through in-app promotion of alternative payments.
Apple also announced today that it will shift to a new unified business model in the EU by January 1, 2026. Under this unified model, a developer will transition from the Core Technology Fee to the newly announced Core Technology Commission, which is paid based on the sales of digital goods and services, rather than app downloads.
Store Services Tier 1: This tier provides capabilities needed for app delivery, trust & safety, app management, and engagement; and features a reduced store services fee. This tier is mandatory for apps communicating and promoting offers.
Store Services Tier 2: This tier is optional, and provides additional capabilities for app delivery and management, engagement, curation & personalization, app insights, and developer marketing.
Developers can move an app between tiers on a per-app, per-storefront basis once a quarter. […]
Notable omissions from apps on the first tier include ratings and reviews, search features other than exact matches, automatic updates, and bulk app management through Business Manager or School Manager. These and other features are apparently worth eight points of app-based digital purchase revenue.
This is complicated. What I would love to see are different practical examples comparing Apple’s distribution policies in most countries, its policies in the U.S. post-ruling, its previous E.U. policies, and these new ones. But there are a lot of variables here to the extent making an accurate comparison may be difficult. A more cynical person may say that is by design, and it would be hard to dispute that. But it is also the result of Apple’s specific and sometimes contradictory monetization decisions.