Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's EU Core Technology Fee Could Bankrupt Freemium App Developers
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
So all of this just came to be from pure chaos somehow sometime from 2007 till now?
I've been with Apple for over 20 years. From my travels in Europe i can see 99% Apple stuff. I start seeing other brands more when i travel to the Baltics and eastern Europe in general.
I am sure the EU will not think this is good enough from Apple when they try to price out the alternative app stores by adding the fees. I would expect them to have to change it shortly.
Apple has a legal right to charge for their IP.
It is funny that some here really say that free app should now annoy their users with ads just to be able to pay the new fee for Apple. Wasn't Apple always against ads, because they spoil the user experience?
I wonder if this technically already violates the EU ruling. If a company has to allow something, that indicates that it can't add unreasonable fees to deter people from using that option. For example the EU forced phone providers to allow users to take their phone number with them, if they switch to another provider. If a provider would ask for a €100 fee for that service, the EU would certainly not count that as compliance. It is clearly anti-competitive if a free app is still free on Apple's app store, but it has to generate 50 Cents per year when bought elsewhere. Imagine you chose to sell your house directly without tasking a realtor, but your would still have to pay the realtor commission.
Some people argue that Apple should not offer its services to developers for free. Indeed it should though. Apps are a major selling point why people buy an iPhone. Apple should be glad about every new app. Some apps are even only available for iOS and get an Android version much later. So the Apple Developer Platform is not a kind of charity by Apple. It is in Apple's very own interest. If Apple thinks the Developer Program is not worth the effort, they can shut it down for good and see people switch to Android.
Just imagine the uproar if Microsoft suddenly decided that it imposes a 50 Cent per year fee for all software that runs on a Windows device. That would be ridiculous and on iPhones it is no less ridiculous.
Apple imposing a fee for apps bought at a third party store is like Apple imposing a fee for every thousand steps counted with the Apple Watch step counter. Or a fee for every YouTube video played on an Apple device. Or a fee for every WhatsApp message sent from every Apple device.
I wonder if this technically already violates the EU ruling. If a company has to allow something, that indicates that it can't add unreasonable fees to deter people from using that option. For example the EU forced phone providers to allow users to take their phone number with them, if they switch to another provider. If a provider would ask for a €100 fee for that service, the EU would certainly not count that as compliance. It is clearly anti-competitive if a free app is still free on Apple's app store, but it has to generate 50 Cents per year when bought elsewhere. Imagine you chose to sell your house directly without tasking a realtor, but your would still have to pay the realtor commission.
Some people argue that Apple should not offer its services to developers for free. Indeed it should though. Apps are a major selling point why people buy an iPhone. Apple should be glad about every new app. Some apps are even only available for iOS and get an Android version much later. So the Apple Developer Platform is not a kind of charity by Apple. It is in Apple's very own interest. If Apple thinks the Developer Program is not worth the effort, they can shut it down for good and see people switch to Android.
Just imagine the uproar if Microsoft suddenly decided that it imposes a 50 Cent per year fee for all software that runs on a Windows device. That would be ridiculous and on iPhones it is no less ridiculous.
Apple imposing a fee for apps bought at a third party store is like Apple imposing a fee for every thousand steps counted with the Apple Watch step counter. Or a fee for every YouTube video played on an Apple device. Or a fee for every WhatsApp message sent from every Apple device.
I'm not sure the EU can currently legally require Apple to provide services for free. It can try and make a law around that but it's a very risky proposition given it undermines the concept of private business and ownership.
Off the top of my head I can't think of any other situation where a company must offer its services for free to its direct competitors.
Not necessarily no, what is legal is decided by the EU and if Apple doesn’t like it they don’t have to sell their products in the EU.
Right now the EU wants Apple to allow people to side-load their apps, Apple is trying to create their own monitored way of side-loading in the name of security which may or may not be deemed okay but I am quite sure that trying to bury side-loading with fees will go directly against what the EU wanted to achieve with these laws.
They can for sure require Apple to allow people that paid for their phones to be able to side-load apps for free, that doesn’t have to involve Apple at all after the customer bought the phone. Nobody is forcing Apple to provide any services for free there.
Not risky at all. The "concept" is whatever the EU defines it as. It's their borders and they have the right to create laws. Right now, EU has designated Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, etc. as gatekeepers and stated clearly what their obligations are.
There is no EU constitution that says "government may never interfere with businesses."
Actually they do, yes. European union can't force a company to do what you want it to do just because [****]. This is not how Eu should work.
The DMA is not really concerned with users the way you are referring to here. What the DMA requires Apple to do is allow for other app stores on iOS. This means end-users can shop for apps in multiple different app stores. I don't believe there's any provision in the DMA that Apple allow individual end-users to be able to install apps from wherever they like.
The irony in that statement. Not if the laws says no you can't. If you are behaving anti competitive and unfairly leveraging a dominating position on competition or screwing consumers, you'll get slapped with a new law.
I can understand that a government can take private businesses into public ownership where there is a vested interest in doing so (such as essential services like water, gas, transport) but I think it would be a stretch to consider apps on mobiles an essential service that needed to be owned and run by a government. Especially ahead of other more important services that should be publicly run but aren't currently. In the UK not even our water companies are publicly owned, there's no chance Apple's App Store will be publicly owned.
Of course it could be run as a PPP where the government pays Apple to operate within a certain framework and Apple takes no further fees. Make App Stores a government contracted service.
Last edited:
They literally did. It's called the Digital Markets Act.
Six companies are now designated as "gatekeepers" and have to do certain things.
Yet you guys are perfectly happy with google now having virtually no Limits now and being the monopoly apple is being accused of.
I’m looking forward to the many people trying to download something and then completely dumbfounded when apple doesn’t help lol. You wanted this so I’m looking forward to seeing the consequences.
Much like beeper this will be hilarious.
You want android like features and openness on iOS then get a pixel and stop trying to make iOS what it never was meant to be. That’s my main problem.
That’s like me demanding android behave like iOS. It shouldn’t be legally forced to because it was never meant to be and more importantly it’s not like people don’t have a choice.
You choose to use iOS ans that means accepting it as it has been. I don’t use android for that very reason because it’s inferior and it doesn’t provide me anything I already get with iOS.
That’s Choice.
It would be nice if Freemium rubbish was just banned all together...
Who in the EU will object to it? Is Apple a company based in Germany, France, Italy, or maybe Spain? Would any of the EU economies be negatively affected? As long as there is political agreement within the EU, any law can be passed.
From the EU's perspective, Apple is raking in revenue as a foreign company.
No one is taking a company into public ownership. They are just defining the rules you have to play by, if you want to sell stuff to consumers in the EU.
No irony. I can't but notice that you like to slap. Why is that? Apple has built this foundation over decades and the notion that now Apple has to give it away for free is ridiculous. Just because Spotify and the like do not have a business model. Give me a break. I made 6 figure on App Store in 2023. I will happily pay Apple in 2024 and i'm not touching that "free marketplace" with stick.
People who want to make money are working hard and making a living and the rest are whining here.