Report sheds light on Apple's strategy for operating its App Store

Apple's App Store is going with the same rules that it approved in 2008 when it opened its official App Store. However, as per CNBC the company makes minor alterations in such guidelines that it thinks fit for the antitrust risk. According to CNBC, the strategy of the company is to play with just 1 rule at one time because it helps to remove the vagueness while combating the antitrust intimidations. Although, during the last couple of weeks, the company has made a few amendments in its official App Store guidelines that have enabled many applications to get the lesser commission rate or even get rid of the full portion of the fee (approximately 15% to 30%) that the Apple usually takes.

The company has not made any major alterations in its policies for 13 years, but now the concession looks like a swing in the Official Store’s strategies. However, the company has overall made slight changes to its plans. App Store's official Review Guidelines page containing thirteen thousand words shows that what iPhone applications can do and what they cannot do while shielding their fundamental interest.

The company has a right to control and decide which functions can run on its phones, and it can also establish the financial term for the app developers. The policy of the company to take a 30% portion is considered as the main income for the company, as the tech giant made a gross income of around 64 Billion Dollars during 2020, as per the data of Apple revelations. Watchdogs and app makers say that the Official App Store of the company has seen many protests during the last several years, such as high fees, appraisal procedure is illogical, and the company reduces the charges of the app but shows to its users that they are free of cost.

Apple has developed an unqualified exception to the 30% charge but it also enabled the application’s developers to file a petition or even encounter the policies, and modify the regulations in response to a claim and media consideration. The company made an example of that as it first disallowed Google Voice and FCC investigates by saying that it has a right to do so but after a year of rejection, it allowed such applications. In the year 2016, the company cut out the second year of subscription to 15% after Spotify encountered the 30% rate. Currently, the company also lessened the fee to 15% for news applications that will contribute to the company’s news and enabled the makers of the app to guide users to substitute payment methods. It looks like the company sees an antitrust litigations as a big danger, as recently a new law was made in Korea that can destroy the monopoly of the payment system of the company.

It is possible that the upcoming trials may compel the company to swing its rules. EU is assessing fines and remedies after investigating that the company has breached the antitrust commandments after Spotify filed a case against the company.


Read next: Apple to be potentially affected by China's newest anti-addiction gaming policies
Previous Post Next Post