Developers sue Apple over ‘excessive’ App Store fees

More than 1,500 developers in the UK have banded together to sue Apple, alleging that the tech giant's App Store fees are "excessive" and harmful to both developers and consumers. 

The class-action lawsuit, led by Sean Ennis, a professor at the University of East Anglia Centre for Competition Policy and a former OECD economist, is seeking £785 million (€912 million) in compensation for the affected app creators.

At the core of the legal challenge is Apple's policy of...

25 July 2023 | App Stores

Play Store loses over 260K apps following Google’s quality push

Android’s app ecosystem has experienced a significant decline in the number of available apps in recent years, according to data from Statista and AppBrain.

Three years ago, Android users had 295 million apps to choose from. However, by the end of 2021, that number had dropped drastically to 2.7 million, and the decline continued.

In January 2022, there were 2.64 million apps available—representing a staggering drop of 260,000 apps in just two years. Although the...

17 July 2023 | Android

Google Play now supports Web3 experiences

Google Play is updating its policies to support “blockchain-based experiences” in recognition of Web3’s potential.

“As a platform, we always want to help developers bring innovative ideas to life. Google Play hosts a variety of blockchain-related apps, and we know that our partners are excited to expand on these offerings to create more engaging and immersive digital experiences with tokenised digital assets such as NFTs,” wrote Joseph Mills, Group Product Manager for...

13 July 2023 | Android

Steam won’t distribute games with AI assets (for now)

Valve recently addressed the controversy surrounding its stance on distributing games featuring AI-generated art and content via its Steam storefront.

Reports emerged last week suggesting that Valve was refusing to distribute games featuring AI-generated assets, sparking a debate within the gaming community. However, in a statement to IGN, Valve spokesperson Kaci Aitchison Boyle clarified the company's position.

Aitchison Boyle emphasised that Valve is not attempting to...

3 July 2023 | App Stores

Decentralised social network Damus to be kicked from App Store

Damus, a decentralised social networking app backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is facing removal from the App Store due to Apple's strict rules.

The app had previously made changes to comply with Apple's guidelines but still failed to meet the tech giant's requirements for its tips feature. This situation highlights the ongoing tension between Apple's control over in-app purchases and developers' desire for more flexibility.

Apple has a history of prohibiting...

27 June 2023 | App Stores

Japan sets its sights on mobile app store monopolies

Japan has joined the growing list of nations pushing for reforms in the mobile ecosystem.

The Japanese government recently held its seventh Digital Market Competition Conference, during which a ‘Competitive Evaluation of Mobile Ecosystems’ report was presented. This report highlighted the critical role mobile ecosystems play in today's digital landscape and emphasised the need for more options and fair competition.

One of the key recommendations of the report is to...

19 June 2023 | Android

Apple hints at enabling sideloading in iOS 17

Apple execs continue to hint at enabling sideloading in iOS 17 to comply with pressure from governments, particularly the EU.

Renowned for its closed ecosystem, Apple is routinely accused of taking advantage of its market position to implement anti-competitive policies. The EU’s upcoming Digital Markets Act aims to put a stop to such practices by tech giants.

Under the EU’s act, Apple will be forced to allow third-party app stores to be “sideloaded” on its...

14 June 2023 | App Stores

Apple and Epic Games ask appeals court to reconsider antitrust case ruling

Apple and Epic Games have requested that an appeals court reconsiders its ruling in the pair’s spat over App Store practices.

The ruling, which upheld a previous order from a California federal court, was the result of a lawsuit Epic Games filed against Apple.

Epic Games accused Apple of imposing unfair requirements on software developers, including high commissions on in-app purchases. 

While the trial judge determined that Apple did not violate US...

9 June 2023 | App Stores

Apple blocked over $2B of fraudulent App Store transactions in 2022

Apple continues to prioritise user safety and security within its App Store ecosystem, reporting that it successfully prevented over $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2022.

The company says that it has been intensifying its efforts to reject suspicious apps and ensure that only reliable and trustworthy apps are available to users.

With millions of weekly visitors and over 36 million registered developers, the App Store has become a thriving platform....

17 May 2023 | App Stores

Appeals court upholds majority of Apple’s App Store policies

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the majority of Apple’s App Store policies and security restrictions in the antitrust lawsuit against Epic Games.

The ruling reaffirmed that Apple’s App Store and its security measures did not violate antitrust laws. However, the court also found that Apple couldn’t maintain anti-steering policies that barred users from learning about alternative payment options.

The legal saga between Epic Games and Apple began...

25 April 2023 | App Stores