During the court hearings, Apple’s honorary employee Phillip Schiller, who oversees the App Store, admitted expressing initial concerns about the 27% commission that the company planned to charge developers for purchases made outside the app store.
Schiller noted that this practice not only poses risks in terms of compliance with legal requirements, but also strains the relationship between Apple and developers. It could also lead Apple to request data on transactions made outside the App Store to ensure accurate commission collection.
Apple’s standard commission within the apps is 30%, but after the 2021 trial with EPIC Games, the company reduced it by 3% for transactions through third-party platforms. The court ruled that Apple is not a monopolist, but must allow developers to offer alternative payment methods. In response, Apple amended the App Store rules to enable developers to include links to their websites. However, the commission was slightly reduced by only 3%, leading to dissatisfaction among developers, including the CEO of Epic Games.
During the court proceedings, various documents and correspondences were presented, showcasing internal discussions within Apple. Schiller expressed concerns that the company might need to track payments, implement measures against non-payers, and even conduct audits on developers, potentially altering their relationship drastically.
Despite the voiced concerns, Apple’s special committee, consisting of CEO Tim Cook, former CFO Luca Maestri, company lawyers, and Schiller himself, approved the decision to collect commissions from external transactions. Apple also applied a similar commission reduction for participants in the small business support program, lowering their rate from 15% to 12%.
Throughout the legal proceedings, details of Apple’s strategic calculations emerged. The company analyzed how a cumbersome user experience when switching to external payment methods could deter customers from making purchases. Research indicated that strict rules for the placement and formatting of links to alternative payment methods could significantly reduce the