Matti Robinson
6 Jun 2019 15:36
Apple's perhaps strongest part of the business is not iPhones or iPads themselves but the App Store, which keeps on printing money with royalties.
However, there might be a problem with how Apple conducts its business regarding to the App Store.
Supreme Court recently decided that Apple is in fact a participant in and responsible for the app selling business, even though it argued, and continues to do so, that it is only in business with the app developer that pays the commissions, not selling the apps to the customer.
After the Supreme Court opened Apple to be sued for antitrust violations by customers, we expected several to be hitting the courts in the coming days, weeks, and months.
It is bound to happen from the customers too, but today we have us a case against App Store by app developers.
Apparently the website Apple put out to promote its side of the App Store story didn't ward off this developer.
The plaintiffs include developers from a baby naming app and a basketball workout app who argue that the Cupertino company "stifles innovation" with its policies, Yahoo! Finance reports.
These include of course the fact that App Store is the only place you can release apps on iOS, but also the 30 percent commission rate as well as annual $99 developer fee and requiring prices ending with .99.
While app developers have been able to sue Apple previously, this case might be due to the publicity provided by the recent Supreme Court case that allowed App Store customers to seek court justice for possible antitrust violations.