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The iPhone maker’s latest concession in a long-standing fight with app developers was announced on Wednesday in response to an investigation launched by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission.
The update – which will take effect in early 2022 and apply worldwide – will give developers something Apple (AAPL) calls “reader” applications to link to external websites and allow users to set up or manage their accounts there.
These apps provide previously purchased content or subscriptions for magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and videos, according to Apple. Amazon Video and Kindle are also frequently cited as examples of reading applications.
Spotify and Netflix once allowed users to pay for in-app services, but have since stopped this form of billing for new members amid a dispute with Apple over the high commission it charges. Downloading the Netflix app, for example, will allow you to sign in, but only if you have an existing account. Otherwise, the app tells you to “join and come back” once you already have an account.
Spotify did not immediately respond to a CNN Business request for comment on the change. Netflix declined to comment.
“To ensure a safe and seamless user experience, App Store guidelines require developers to sell digital services and subscriptions using Apple’s integrated payment system,” Apple said, adding that it allows the change “because developers of reading apps don’t. offer in-app digital goods and services for purchase.”
The update will make it easier for some developers to get around Apple’s high fees. The company’s commissions go up to 30% on certain purchases made through its platform. The developers said they had no choice but to comply, as Apple doesn’t allow customers to download apps from any source other than the company’s official store.
‘Divide and conquer’?
The issue is at the heart of an EU antitrust investigation and lawsuit against Apple by the maker of Fortnite Epic Games. A verdict in the Fortnite case is expected overnight. Epic CEO
Tim Sweeney tweeted Wednesday night that Apple’s “special offer” for certain multimedia applications was the latest in a “daily divide-and-conquer recalculation in hopes of getting away with most of their tied selling practices.”
“Apple should open iOS on the basis of competing hardware, stores, payments and services each individually and on their own merits,” he wrote.
Apple’s announcement comes about a week after the company said it would ease some restrictions on how iPhone app makers could communicate with customers outside of its App Store.
The company said last week that “developers can use communications, such as emails, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app,” as long as users consent to receive those emails. mails and have the right to withdraw.
The announcement also comes after South Korea passed a law that will allow developers to select which payment systems to use to process in-app purchases. This means that they may be able to bypass the high fees imposed by Apple and Google (GOOGL).
– Michelle Toh and Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report.
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