Apple has launched a historic reform, although currently only targeting the European Union region, it undoubtedly tore open a gap in the previously closed and autonomous iOS ecosystem.
On January 25th, in response to the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) introduced by the European Union, Apple released a series of policy changes aimed at the EU region, involving iOS, Safari browser, and App Store, in order to weaken the company's "monopolistic" image in the software ecosystem as much as possible in the eyes of regulatory authorities.
Simply put, starting from iOS 17.4, Apple will allow users to download software from app markets outside of the App Store for the first time. At the same time, users will be able to use alternative payment systems outside of Apple Pay, including PSP payment service providers and external payment links, and have clearer feature settings to choose from other default web browsers.
To achieve this goal, Apple has provided a large number of new API interfaces, development tools, and created new frameworks to replace the App market and browser engines for the developer community.
In fact, the most obvious impacts of this series of policy changes are user privacy and security, and developer income.
On the user side, Apple has repeatedly emphasized that if users download apps from the alternative application market, they will bear certain risks, including fraud and abuse, or containing inappropriate, offensive, and harmful content, and Apple's ability to handle these risks is limited.
For example, all apps released through Apple distribution channels will undergo a notarization process, which will ensure that the app's practices in user security and privacy are compliant and do not contain malicious software. But if it is released on the App Store, the app will also go through an "App review", which will further check whether the content of the app matches its description and whether the business model is suspected of fraud.
An Apple spokesperson told Interface News that if it is released in the alternative app market, the app will not have an "App Review" section, which is the main difference between the two during the release process. In addition, Apple reminds that for apps that use unofficial payment channels, Apple will not be able to provide refunds, and its ability to provide support in the event of user issues or fraud will also be limited.
As for developer income, this group will for the first time have the option of not having to pay Apple taxes. In the EU region, if developers release applications through alternative app markets, all fees incurred by users within the app will not be charged by Apple.
Even if applications continue to be released through the App Store channel, developers will still have lower distribution costs.
Apple has stated that the commission rate for EU developers who release applications on the App Store will be reduced from 30% to 17%. If they meet the small developer plan or subscribe for a full year, the commission rate will be further reduced to 10% (the commission rate for small developers in other regions is 15%).
In addition, if developers publish applications on the App Store but choose a payment service provider during the payment process, or guide users to visit their website through links to complete the payment, they can also reduce the 3% transaction fee paid to Apple.
An additional fee is that after an iOS app has been installed more than 1 million times, regardless of the release channel, developers are required to pay a "core technology usage fee" of 0.5 euros per year for each initial installation (account verification rather than device). The aforementioned Apple spokesperson stated that the cost reflects the value enhancement of the app provided by Apple to developers through tools and platforms. But Apple stated that in the EU region, less than 1% of developers are required to pay this fee.
In order to help developers in the EU region better distinguish the impact of the new regulations on their business, Apple will provide developers with cost calculation tools and more detailed reports. However, Apple estimates that under the new business terms, 99% of the fees paid by developers in the European Union to Apple will decrease or remain unchanged.
It is reported that iOS version 17.4 will be officially released in March, and the above terms will also take effect in the European Union region.
Both on the user side and developer side, Apple has made breakthrough reforms, but fundamentally in response to the increasingly stringent regulation of global technology giants by the European Union.
In September last year, the EU DMA released the bill, which defined Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and TikTok as the "gatekeepers" of Internet services, and regulated and restricted their application interaction, pre installed user rights, user information collection, payment options, etc. The bill states that the aforementioned technology companies will have 6 months to complete compliance, and if they fail to comply by the deadline, they may be fined up to 10% of their revenue.
According to reports, Apple had previously responded that the company's focus was on how to mitigate the impact of compliance on user privacy and security risks. As mentioned earlier, Apple has repeatedly emphasized that non official app markets and payment channels may bring unknown risks. For developers and users, these risks are actually passed on to them. If developers want to reduce costs and users want convenience, they need to bear these potential risks.
At present, these breakthrough policy changes are still limited to the EU region. It is difficult to determine whether Apple will face similar demands from regulatory agencies in other regions if the new regulations operate well after a period of time.