Apple has warned its investors of the negative consequences of the worldwide dispute over the App Store. In the latest stock market report of the iPhone corporation it is said, should the commission, which the company keeps on sales in the App Store, reduced or in some other way in its scope or eliminated, “the financial condition of the company and the operating result could be significantly negative to be influenced”. We’re talking about the famous 30 percent fee that Apple collects for paid apps, in-app sales and in-app subscriptions and that of the Group is currently trying to defend with all legal teeth and claws.

Stock market crisis at Apple Apple reported growth in the service business again in the third quarter. Of the 14, 5 billion US dollars in sales, a no small part should come from the App Store – even if the company does not explicitly say this identifies. Because of the delayed iPhone 12 Apple made a billion dollars less profit. In addition, sales in China, the second most important market, fell by 15 percent compared to the previous year. On the NASDAQ technology exchange in New York, Apple’s share lost more than 5 percent on Friday.

Apple has been taking its commission since the introduction of the App Store – it celebrated 2020 his twelfth birthday. After one year, the fee is reduced to 15 percent if it is an in-app subscription. Video services, on the other hand, are given special curiosities such as lower tariffs and their own means of payment – which in turn disturbs other app providers.

Regulators and app industry against Apple The iPhone group is currently fighting in the USA with the game company Epic Games, which Apple has challenged in court. Epic Games sees itself as part of a larger coalition of exasperated app providers. At the same time, antitrust authorities or parliamentary committees are also taking action against Apple, for example in the USA, Europe and Japan. You ask the question whether Apple has a kind of monopoly and is exploiting it mercilessly. Apple countered, among other things, that the iPhone is not a market leader – and therefore not a monopoly – and that the fees are also used to improve the app store and provide developers with adequate technology such as APIs.

Whether Apple is now planning to reduce the commission itself is unclear. The company has to make a political decision here. Sometimes it was already approaching developers. For example, digital in-app events on Facebook should not necessarily force commission payments in the future.

(bsc)