Apple Inc announced a major change for EU app developers. They can now distribute their apps outside of Apple’s App Store. This is a response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
This change will affect many Chinese app developers. They are looking for business opportunities in the EU.The Digital Markets Act has some rules for big tech companies. They must make their apps compatible with rivals’ apps. They must let users choose which apps to pre-install on their devices.
Apple launched tools on Thursday for developers to change their business arrangements. Users will see these changes in an iOS update in March.
Developers have some options now. They can offer their apps through alternative app stores and pay no commissions to Apple. But they have to pay a Core Technology Fee of €0.50 ($0.63) per install per account annually for popular apps with more than a million downloads.
They can also stay on Apple’s App Store and pay a reduced commission of 10 percent or 17 percent on transactions for digital goods and services.
Or they can keep the existing model and pay commissions from 15 percent to 30 percent to Apple.Apple said developers can choose what works best for them.
