If Apple manages 1) the financial transaction, 2) product customer lists, 3) product distribution, 4) product update distirubtion and 5) licensing there is real value worthy of a cut. However, this does raise quesitons such as are 30 day trials allowed? Could additional features be turned on with an extra fee outside of the Apple iTunes ecosystem? Does each version of the app need to be approved? What's the lag time between customer purchase and third party software vendor getting paid?
It would be very Apple-like to offer apps only in 3 or so pricing categories much like the "good, better, best" model. For example, free, $4.99 and $19.99. Yes, I made that up. But I could see Apple, not dictate, but really control pricing to give a better experience to the consumer. The "small cut" would probably be a different percentage based on the price point. Just my guess.
