We’re likely less than six months away from the launch of third-party app stores on the iPhone – at least in Europe – and Apple’s plans for this appear to be advancing.
We’ve already noted that most consumers are unlikely to switch from the official App Store, unless they are given good reason to. But Apple also needs to keep developers loyal to the platform, and a seemingly small piece of news over the weekend likely revealed how the company intends to go about this …
A quick recap on third-party app stores
The European Union has long considered Apple’s exclusive control over third-party iPhone apps to be an antitrust issue. Whether you’re a consumer wanting to buy an iPhone app, or a developer wanting to sell one, there’s only one place you can do so: the App Store.
Apple has complete control over which apps it allows into the App Store, and the company sets its own terms – including its 15% or 30% commission – which developers and consumers alike have to accept.
After years of discussion, the EU finally took action in the form of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which says that Apple must permit competition in the iPhone app market. It’s most likely that the only way the company can fully comply with this legislation is to allow competing app stores on the iPhone, and it must do this by April of next year.
The iPhone maker has had teams working on this for at least a year, and likely longer.
How big is the threat?
We’ve noted before that, by default, the vast majority of iPhone owners will continue to buy apps from the official App Store. They will only do so from third-party app stores if given a good reason to do so.
There is a threat from big developers like Epic Games. Those companies could potentially make their apps exclusive to their own app store, so you’d have to buy from them. All the same, it’s a gamble: You don’t want to put barriers in the way of consumers buying your app, and having to download say an Epic Games App Store app before you can buy a game is a significant barrier.
But another threat is third-party app stores offering lower prices and other incentives. Upcoming app stores may well offer developers special deals to try to persuade them to jump ship, and it appears that Apple is preparing to fight fire with fire, even before this happens.
Contingent pricing is likely just an opening move
Over the weekend, Apple quietly announced something which might not, on its own, seem a big deal: Contingent pricing.
Contingent pricing for subscriptions on the App Store — a new feature that helps you attract and retain subscribers — lets you give customers a discounted subscription price as long as they’re actively subscribed to a different subscription [….]
Contingent pricing for subscriptions on the App Store — a new feature that helps you attract and retain subscribers — lets you give customers a discounted subscription price as long as they’re actively subscribed to a different subscription.
The Cupertino company particularly emphasized to developers that it does the heavy lifting, to make it easy to implement.
Apple helps you manage implementation, providing customers with a seamless redemption and purchasing experience based on the contingent price proposition you provide.
This is a good example of the sort of thing I’d expect third-party app stores to offer in a bid to attract developers to their platforms, so it’s notable that Apple is doing it first.
Watch out for more such features in the coming months, as Apple seeks to give developers and consumers alike to stick to the official App Store.
Photo by Screen Post/Unsplash
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