Apple push services and its relationship with developers

Before the Apple services event tomorrow, CNET came out with an interesting look at the impact of Apple's services on its relationships with developers and competitors. The report plunges into the setback that Apple faces for its 30% reduction in sales of the App Store, and more.

As the report notes, Apple is increasingly interested in services as it is currently facing two antitrust complaints. Earlier this month, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, in which it was alleged that Apple was "not playing fair" in the App Store. Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab made similar complaints last week and filed an antitrust complaint in Russia.

Rivka Gewirtz Little, an badyst at IDC, says these problems are as follows: complaints are a side effect of a market economy where innovation is the key:

"We are facing an existential crisis of a … new economy," said Rivka Gewirtz Little, an badyst of payment strategies for IDC. "We live in a market economy where innovation is endless, but we still have not answered the question of monetizing it in a fair way."

At the same time, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement to CNET that he would like to "distribute" Fortnite directly to consumers on iOS, but that is simply not possible. Sweeney also asked Apple to simply allow secure and licensed application installations directly from the web.

Of course, it is not surprising that Sweeney wants to get around the 30% reduction in digital sales of the App Store by Apple. What you are wondering, though, is if Apple is opening up to companies like Epic that are leaving iOS completely.

"[Epic] I'd like to distribute Fortnite directly to customers on iOS, but Apple's current conditions prevent developers from doing so. Epic advocates for a change in Apple policy to allow competition between stores and software sources. "

In time, Apple's new video streaming service, News subscription and bundle of games could put it in even more direct competition with the developers of the App Store. Part of Spotify's argument is that Apple Music has an unfair advantage because it does not have to share a 30% cut with anyone.

Could Hulu and other streaming services make similar claims after Apple's original launch of the video? Only time will tell, but it certainly seems to be a possibility.

Read it full CNET report here.