Apple reforms App Store rules to allow third-party payment methods in the U.S. but will still charge a commission fee - gHacks Tech News
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Apple has adjusted its App Store rules to allow third-party payment methods. But developers will need to pay a commission for using them.

Well, they do provide the AppStore and the whole underlying infrastructure. So a fee in and off itself is not unreasonable.

However, since the AppStore is the only channel for selling/downloading apps it reeks of monopoly (which Apple is rightly being investigated for).

Why does providing the App Store entitle them to a percentage of in app purchases instead of, say, a fee per download or something?

If you think about it, a fee per app download is a lot less flexible when it comes to monetising purchases. Means free apps either become paid or shove into you a lot more micro transactions. That exact model is what made devs get mad at unity (although unity doesn’t provide the download infrastructure and it was on top of a cut)

Fair. I still don’t think that entitles Apple to a cut of purchases in the app, but you’re right that a download fee sucks.

It is unreasonable if they are not the one providing payment infra.

They already charge developers 100$ pa for the app store account. If that doesn’t cover their costs, they can increase it, but going after 3rd party payments is pure greed.

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