Apple admits that other app stores exist

The Future. Apple wants to put a class-action lawsuit to bed, proposing a $100 million payout and several concessions to a group of small U.S.-based app developers. Most importantly, developers can now inform users of methods to bypass the App Store’s 30% fee with. Just one thing —  that capability is still not allowed inside the app, and other lawsuits against Apple, from Epic Games, Spotify, and Match Group, may finish the battle.

To the core
A band of tiny apps may have finally chipped Apple’s App Store armor.

• Per the terms, Apple will allow developers on iOS to inform users that they can use payment options outside of the App Store to bypass the 30% fee.
• Apple’s $100 million payout, called the “Small Developer Assistance Fund,” will be split among developers who made less than $1 million between all of their apps every year since June 2015.

Additionally, Apple will have to keep its App Store Small Business Program open, publish an annual transparency report, and give developers the ability to customize 500 price points for subscriptions.

Direct deposit
While this sounds like good news for developers, many don’t think that Apple has gone far enough. Specifically, developers want the ability to tell customers about alternative payment options within their apps (something that the settlement still doesn’t allow). Emails are great, but how many users are actually reading those?

Apple probably knows that even more changes are on the horizon. Last week, the company announced that it was cutting fees from 30% to 15% if publishers joined Apple News — another chink in the armor.