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Is It Time for Apple To Give In?
A judge tells Apple that it has to open up to external payment methods
Apple’s long battle for absolute control of the App Store and its bespoke payment system is close to slipping away.
On Tuesday, a judge ordered Apple to comply with the order to open App Store apps to links and buttons that connect customers to external, third-party payment methods — and to do so by December 9th. Apple is, of course, appealing and might win the time it asked for to evaluate and prepare for such a change.
It also might not.
Let’s assume for the moment that Apple loses its appeal. It could take a few weeks or months for app developers to catch up and introduce new payment methods that circumvent Apple’s payment system and 30% cut (15% for apps that make less than $1 million). On the other hand, the potential of making an extra 30% on every transaction might inspire developers to fast-track the introduction of a button or link directly to their virtual checkout counter.
Apple, however, hasn’t lost its gatekeeper status (you still can’t side-load apps). Each new app must go through Apple’s approval process. Apple might give these new apps with third-party payment options extra-close scrutiny.
Fortnite maker Epic, which launched this latest battle, could return to the App store with the payment workaround that originally got it booted from the App Store (and Google Play). I wonder if Apple will claim that ongoing litigation makes it inadvisable to analyze or admit Fortnite.
For years, I’ve stood on the side of Apple’s vise-like control of the App Store because I think it ensures quality apps that don’t include hidden malware or scams. The reality is that even the most stringent app verification system misses some bad actors.
Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that among the top 1,000 highest-grossing apps on the platform, almost 2% are scams that have stolen roughly $48M from app customers. Google Play, which adopted similarly strict app verification rules, has seen hundreds of apps that subscribed millions of unsuspecting customers to expensive services without their consent.
