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Apple is announced As iPhone makers prepare to roll out compliance with the European Union’s pre-competition reform, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Union is introducing a number of changes to iOS, including new fees for developers. ing.
Back in September, the EU designated Apple as one of six “gatekeepers” subject to the DMA, listing the iOS App Store and its browser Safari as “core platform services.” This regulation imposes a series of obligations and restrictions on gatekeepers. For Apple, this includes forcing sideloading of apps, among other changes. The deadline for gatekeepers to comply with the DMA is March 7th.
Today, Apple announced the availability of a beta version of iOS 17.4. He says this will help developers prepare for changes to his mobile platform that will be rolled out next month in time for his EU compliance deadline.
In a background briefing with journalists ahead of the beta release, Apple said it had been working on a DMA-compliant solution for several months. But he also warned that some of the changes pose new risks to users, repeating his long-standing argument against sideloading that the practice risks reducing the security and privacy of iOS users.
Apple says the following changes are planned for iOS developers distributing apps in the European Economic Area (EEA):
- New options for distributing iOS apps from the Alternative App Marketplace — including new APIs and tools to help developers deliver iOS apps
Download from the Alternative App Marketplace. - New framework and API for creating alternative app marketplaces — enables marketplace developers to install apps on behalf of other apps and manage updates.
Developers can access it through a dedicated marketplace app. - New frameworks and APIs for alternative browser engines — enables developers to use browser engines other than WebKit for their browser apps and apps
Features an in-app browsing experience. - Interoperability Request Form — Developers can submit additional requests for interoperability with iPhone and iOS hardware and software features.
Last week, details of Apple’s proposal to the EU to settle its antitrust lawsuit against Apply Pay were revealed. Today, we hinted that proposed changes to contactless payments on iOS would be “DMA compliant.” This includes new APIs that allow developers to use his NFC technology in banking and wallet apps across the EEA, as well as new controls that allow users to choose third-party contactless payments. Masu. Use your payment app (or alternative app marketplace) as the default.
However, as with all future changes Apple is announcing today, the European Commission, which oversees gatekeeper DMA compliance, will assess whether they meet the law’s requirements.
If EU regulators determine that Apple’s changes are not DMA-compliant, they could face fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue and force Apple to reconsider.
New business terms and “core technology” fees
Alongside a number of DMA-focused changes that developers will be able to choose from, Apple is also introducing new business terms in Europe. This includes the introduction of a new fee called the “core technology fee.”
This means that developers may choose to step outside of the walled garden by distributing their apps via alternative app stores or incentivizing users to follow links and pay for additional content. The intent appears to be to allow Apple to continue to profit in some scenarios even if it redirects users to its own website to make payments.
App Store and Alternative app marketplaces pay 0.50 euros per year for each install for the first year. 1 million threshold, per apple.
Developers who wish to take advantage of the new features announced today, including the ability to distribute apps through alternative app stores, must accept these new business terms.
“The new trading terms for apps in the EU are necessary to support the DMA’s requirements for alternative distribution and payment processing,” Apple said in a press release. “This includes a pricing structure that reflects the many ways Apple creates value for developers’ businesses, including App Store distribution and discovery, App Store secure payment processing, and Apple’s It includes a trusted and secure mobile platform, all the tools and technology to build and share innovative apps with users around the world. ”
Under the terms of the new deal, Apple will also reduce its cut from digital purchases of iOS apps on the App Store. 17% for transactions in digital goods and services, or reduced to 17% for transactions in digital goods and services. As Apple puts it, it’s 10% “for the majority of developers and subscriptions beyond the first year.”
Apple will also impose an additional 3% payment processing fee on iOS apps on the App Store that want to use its own payment technology.
However, developers are free to use alternative payment service providers within their apps or link users to websites to process payments outside of the App Store, at no “additional cost” to Apple. You can choose.
Additionally, Apple said developers can elect to collect 30% (15% for small businesses) as a fee for in-app purchases within apps distributed on the App Store under existing business terms. .
Regardless of the terms developers choose, they can continue to use the App Store’s payment processing technology and distribute their apps on Apple’s App Store in the EU, Apple said.
Under the terms of the new deal, the tech giant said it estimates that more than 99% of developers will reduce or maintain the fees they pay.
It also suggests that less than 1% of developers pay core technology fees for EU apps. This is because it only targets apps that achieve extraordinary scale (i.e. installed on millions of iOS devices).
Apple has justified the new fees by saying they reflect the value provided by its technology platforms and services, which are independent of App Store features and distribution.
The DMA requires designated gatekeeper app stores to be open to sideloading, but does not mandate any particular business model. But it remains to be seen whether Apple’s careful restructuring of EU trading terms and the specific options it is presenting to developers will pass regulatory scrutiny.
Article 6(12) of the DMA states:
Gatekeepers shall ensure that business users’ access to software application stores, online search engines and online social networking services listed in the designation decision under Article 3(9) is fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. General conditions shall apply.
Therefore, for Apple to avoid violating the DMA, it would need to argue that the structure it devised here is “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.”
As part of the changes, Apple is introducing a number of other new features to its platform, including notarization for iOS apps, and could very well argue that that justifies the new fees (Apple According to Microsoft, this will include a “baseline review that applies to all apps”). We focus on platform integrity and user protection, regardless of distribution channel, and include both automated checks and human reviews). App installation sheet (uses information from the notarization process to present the user with an overview of what they are about to download in the form of an at-a-glance description of the app and its features). Approval for Marketplace developers (with checks he does by Apple to ensure Marketplace developers comply with “ongoing requirements to protect users and developers”). Apple says that if an iOS app is found to contain malware after it’s installed on a user’s device, it will no longer be able to launch.
In a press conference with journalists today, Apple representatives emphasized that the changes requested by the EU will introduce entirely new risks for iOS users.
The company specifically highlighted the security risks of allowing iOS apps to install other apps on a user’s device (Apple refers to these alternative app stores as “Marketplace apps”). This suggests that this is a common attack vector for malware. Meanwhile, company representatives insisted that there has never been a widespread consumer malware attack on iOS.
Developers who accept Apple’s new terms will be able to build alternative app stores (i.e. Marketplace apps), but they will still be subject to Apple’s app review process, which is meant to protect users and developers. It is necessary to meet the standards set by the company.
Other changes address other DMA requests related to how Apple can operate the App Store and Safari browser (other changes include allowing iOS users to choose non-Apple alternative options) (which appears to be intended to encourage you to take special care before) include:new The selection screen that iOS users see allows them to choose their default browser and displays a selection of competing browsers alongside Apple’s own Safari browser. That a developer can offer a browser that is not based on her WebKit browser engine.new App Store product page label. Apple says it will notify users if an app they’re downloading uses an alternative payment process. In-app disclosure sheet. Let users know when a transaction with Apple has ended and when the developer is directing them to transact using an alternative payment processor. New app review process – Apple says it will verify whether developers accurately communicate information about transactions using alternative payment processors. Data and Privacy The site expands data portability, allowing EU users to obtain new data about their App Store usage and export it to authorized third parties.
Notifying iOS users that their relationship with Apple is ending is one way Apple may try to entice people to continue paying for third-party apps through its own payment technology. But on the flip side, Apple might argue that this is just a “fair and reasonable” warning to give users when they step outside of their managed ecosystem.
DMA also allows gatekeepers to ensure that third-party apps and stores, or new interoperability requirements required by DMA, do not jeopardize the integrity of the hardware, software, or operating systems they provide. may take any “strictly necessary and appropriate” steps to do so. However, it added the condition that such measures must be “duly justified by the gatekeepers”.
Another change Apple announced today will allow developers to offer the equivalent of a streaming game app store.
In an immediate reaction to Apple’s move, Epic Games, which sued the tech giant in the US over App Store terms, slammed its EU-facing service, calling it “bad compliance” full of “junk fees.”