Apple has made some big changes recently. One of these important changes is that users will be able to download apps from outside the App Store. However, Apple’s pricing plan for developers drew a lot of reaction.
Apple plans to charge per download for popular apps!
There has been tension between Apple and the European Union for a long time. The tech giant switched to the USB-C port slot with the iPhone 15 series at the request of the EU. Subsequently, the company was said to have taken anti-competitive steps for the App Store. As a result, the way was paved for users in Europe to use other app stores.
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Users living in the European Union will be able to use the App Store and third-party app stores. Developers, however, are unlikely to favor other app stores.
Apple is reportedly working on a pricing structure for apps in third-party app stores. Accordingly, developers who want to publish apps in these stores will have to pay 0.50 euros for each new download for apps that receive more than 1 million installs each year.
The most crucial point here is that this payment will be made every year. Moreover, the user’s download of an update will also be considered an installation. If developers want to publish an app on the App Store instead of a third-party app store, they will be subject to a 17 percent cut in each in-app sale.
Apple’s pricing structure for developers to publish apps on third-party app stores has sparked a major controversy. In particular, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek posted a reaction on social media. Many users described this new pricing structure as absurd. But is it really so?
Is Apple’s new pricing structure really ridiculous?
Let’s explain Apple’s new pricing structure with an example. Facebook, the social media platform owned by Meta, has 408 million monthly users in Europe. iPhones make up a third of the European smartphone market. If all of these one-third have the Facebook app installed, this means that Meta will pay Apple $67.5 million every year. And that’s not even taking into account that each update counts as a download.
However, Meta will have to pay not only for Facebook, but also for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. This brings a serious cost. Another issue that bothers big companies is that they have to pay for users who downloaded these apps years ago but never logged in.
Another important point here is that the fact that the app is free doesn’t change this. So if you have an app that gets more than 1 million downloads every year but you don’t monetize it in any way, you will still have to pay Apple.
As you know, with the help of social media, sometimes some apps can go viral and become popular quickly. The developer, on the other hand, will have to pay more than he earns because he cannot make enough profit from this newly popular application.
In other words, Apple’s pricing structure for popular apps is likely to be the subject of much debate. Apps that already receive less than 1 million downloads each year will not be charged any fees.
There is another important point that is not mentioned much. This is that Apple can raise the 0.50 euro fee per download according to the plan if it feels like it. So there is no limit for this. It can even demand 100 euros if it wishes.
Amendments can be made
The European Union will evaluate Apple’s new pricing structure. In this context, it may be requested to make a change in this pricing structure in line with the increasing reactions. Expectations are high at this point.
Instead of publishing an app on the App Store and paying a 17 percent commission on each in-app sale, app developers can choose a third-party app store. Of course, if the app starts to receive more than 1 million downloads every year, they may also regret that they should have published it on the App Store. This situation brings to mind the saying “down with the beard, up with the mustache”.
What do you think about this? Do you think Apple’s pricing structure for developers who want to publish apps on the third-party app store makes sense? You can share your opinions with us in the Comments section below.
