BERKELEY, Calif. — Apple has agreed to allow iPhone app developers to contact their users about cheaper alternatives to pay for digital subscriptions and media, bypassing a commission system that earns the iPhone manufacturer billions of dollars each year.
Apple broke the news to reporters in a “background” conference in which it insisted on anonymity for participating executives and refused to allow any direct quotes.
As long as the firms gain consumer agreement, the concession provides one avenue for app developers to more aggressively urge their users to pay in other ways.
While presiding over the high-profile Epic-Apple trial, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers expressed skepticism about the agreement. She questioned aloud why Apple didn’t enable developers to offer a variety of payment choices within their applications, similar to how brick-and-mortar stores may display a variety of credit cards in addition to cash.
Apple is still refusing to let developers use in-app alerts to encourage users to try out other payment methods.
One of the app developers who initiated the complaint that Apple is now resolving called the ability to email customers a “game-changer.” “On an Oakland, California courtroom, in a declaration filed. App developers would “take full advantage of this shift in customer communications as a method to further lower the commissions paid to Apple,” according to the report “Czeslawski, the CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball, foresaw this.
Apple reduced in-app fees for developers with less than $1 million in annual sales from 30% to 15% earlier this year, affecting the majority of the apps in its store. Apple has agreed to continue the reduced commission for small developers for at least three more years as part of the settlement announced on Thursday.
When Gonzalez Rogers announces her decision in the Epic case, those emotions are expected to flare up.
Gonzalez Rogers will also vote on whether to approve or reject the proposed settlement that was revealed on Thursday. On October 12th, a hearing will be held on this topic.