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🏠 Say Hello To The New App Store

🏠 Say Hello To The New App Store

But maybe not new enough

Stephen Flanders
January 26, 2024

Gm. I’ve never played Fortnite, but I know it’s really hard to be good at these days. And that’s with a controller. How the hell can anybody play that thing on a phone? Kids these days are built different man.

— Stephen Flanders

🏠 TECH

The App Store Is A Changing

Besides being something that drives other companies absolutely insane, the App Store is notable for its remarkable consistency. It’s really not all that different from when it was a decade ago.

That is about to change.

Because of the EU’s Digital Market’s Act (DMA), the App Store we’re getting with iOS 17.4 is coming with some big changes (for European users):

Third-party app stores will be allowed on iOS for the first time, although any store still has to be approved by Apple.
The App Store is finally letting alternative payment systems on with a 17% fee instead of the usual 30%.
They are introducing a “Core Technology Fee” that will charge developers $0.54 for every app install over a million installs.
Game streaming services will be allowed for the first time.

At first glance, you would think developers would be happy about these changes. They’ve been fighting for third-party app stores and alternative payment systems since the App Store was born.

But the App Store’s biggest critic is far from satisfied.

To Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, this is another move by Apple to skirt real reform. The new fees, taxes, and ability to choose which third-party stores are allowed to launch all add up to what is, in his words, a hot garbage announcement.

We’ll have to wait and see how much change these moves really bring, but it’s clear that the fight over the App Store is far from over.

At Least… Fortnite is coming back to iPhones.