Apple’s Phil Schiller Disagrees with Continued 27% Developer Fee Amid Out-of-App Payments

In the past year, Apple’s App Store has undergone significant changes. For example, they adjusted fees and allowed for sideloading in EU countries. In the United States, apps can now choose alternative payment methods outside the App Store, with Apple reducing its commission from 30% to 27%.

This development stems from the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple. Phil Schiller, now an Apple Fellow overseeing the App Store business, disagreed with the decision to reduce the commission to 27% for external in-app payments. He expressed concerns internally at Apple, fearing that maintaining this fee structure would strain developer relationships and portray the App Store as overly profit-oriented.

Despite these internal discussions, Apple ultimately opted to decrease commissions by 3% to 27% for major developers and by 3% to 12% for smaller developers. This decision aligned with the recommendations of Apple’s revenue review board, comprising Tim Cook, CEO Luca Maestri, CFO, and Schiller.

Upon learning of these changes, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, criticized Apple’s motives, suggesting that the adjustments aimed to impede developers from implementing external payment systems within apps. Ultimately, a new commission structure was established to address these concerns.

TLDR: Apple’s App Store introduced changes to commission fees for in-app purchases, reducing percentages for developers of different sizes, amidst a legal dispute with Epic Games over payment methods.