Would Apple get in tune with the European Union? It is reluctantly and under pressure from Brussels that the Californian group falls into line. In order to comply with the new regulations on digital markets (Digital Markets Act, DMA), Apple is forced to let go of some concessions. The company has agreed to major changes to the iOS operating system that equips its cell phones sold around the world. Among the most notable: the new application stores competing with the App Store or the choice of default browser. These updates will be available on version iOS 17.4, the release date of which has not yet been revealed.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton applauds these transformations. Friday January 26, he welcomed “the change in progress”. “More choice for consumers and more opportunities for small, innovative technology companies. The DMA will open the doors of the internet to competition so that digital markets are fair and open,” he stressed. The European Commission, which now plays the role of digital policeman in the EU, will have to assess their compliance with the new legislation which will apply on March 6.
Concretely, the Apple brand announced that it would allow alternative application stores on its phones from March which will compete with its App Store. For several years, developers have accused Tim Cook’s multinational of artificially maintaining a monopoly. With this modification, they will be able to circumvent the 30% commission on App Store transactions (lowered to 15% for the smallest applications), described as an “Apple tax” by its most virulent opponents. Note that these taxes represent a significant financial windfall for Apple, the company having achieved a colossal turnover in 2023, estimated at around $50 billion, underline our colleagues at The gallery.
Poisonous alternatives?
With the new system, developers will have to choose between keeping the current business rules and limiting themselves to the App Store, or adopting the new ones to be able to also distribute their programs through competitors. If they opt for the new rules, “Apple will reduce the commissions collected via its App Store, and will not collect any via competitors,” explains Franceinfo. But there is a catch: developers will not only have to pay a 17% commission to Apple, but also submit to a new toll. Indeed, the American company has introduced additional fees, including a “basic technology fee” of 50 cents for app developers with more than a million users for each first payment made by a user. According to Apple, only 1% of applications are affected.
While this model might be welcomed by some services, such as digital media platforms, who might hope to recoup these fees quickly through smaller fees on card payments, it is likely to be more difficult for others. Example with free games, where a significant number of users do not pay. Thus, these new conditions could disrupt their economic model. If Apple gave in on some adaptations, the multinational paid attention to important details. Certainly, it gives the green light for other applications, but it will be it which will have the right to choose the competition. In theory, it could therefore block the main market players. Will she go that far? Brussels should not let this happen.
For Epic Games, the publisher of the survival game Fortnite which will launch its own platform, it’s a small victory. In fact, it has not been present in Apple’s application store for almost four years. In 2020, the studio voluntarily sought to circumvent the commission system of Apple’s but also Google’s application stores, leading to its ban from both platforms.
“Heaps of garbage”
But the series of constraints made his boss, Tim Sweeney, jump, who described these announcements as “hot garbage”. He says this is “another sneaky example of malicious compliance. They force developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and store terms, which will be illegal under the DMA, or accept a new anti-competitive system that is also illegal, riddled with new unwanted fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t make.” Faced with these criticisms, the Apple brand responds that this new system will remain profitable for developers who should “maintain or reduce their bill”.
The multinational will also open up to contactless payment services other than its in-house solution, Apple Pay. So, you will no longer have to go through the App Store to make a payment via your iPhone in the European Union. Until now, all payments went through its infrastructures, a boon for the Californian group which pocketed a 30% commission. In exchange, Apple guaranteed users ultra-secure payment. With this new shift, companies that agree to pay the “Core Technology Fee” will be able to send their users to other payment platforms.
Choosing the default search engine
The choice of an alternative browser to Safari will, moreover, be facilitated by the automatic opening of a menu offering competing solutions whereas until now you had to go to the settings to make such a modification. It will therefore be easier to choose your default web browser, rather than having one imposed on you. Especially since they are legion: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or DuckDuckGo.
For its part, Apple does not hide its dissatisfaction, arguing that user security risks suffering. The international giant firmly defends its closed operation, pointing the finger at its main competitor Android. “Even with these guarantees in place, many risks remain,” says the Cupertino group, which has never hidden its hostility to the DMA. Apple also believes that the new rules will result in a “less intuitive user experience”. “It’s the same story as the common charger: they make a big deal, but eventually they comply. If they’re concerned about safety, that means they haven’t done their job well and that the Commission can pursue them,” a senior European official told AFP on Friday.
Last September, Apple announced that it would integrate the universal charging port known as “USB-C” into its new iPhone range, in order to comply a year in advance with European legislation that it has long fought. The apple brand has built its success on a closed ecosystem of which it controls all the parameters. Apple therefore continues to defend this philosophy, even if it means playing on the nerves of Europeans.