Apple today announced a series of upcoming changes in the App Store which, with court approval, will close a class action filed by US developers.
The contract clarifies that developers can report purchase options outside of their iOS app; Expands the price levels developers can offer for subscriptions, in-app purchases and paid apps; and creates a new fund to help qualified American developers.
Small businesses with annual revenues of up to $1 million will continue to benefit from a reduced commission, while larger developers will pay the App Store the standard commission for in-app purchases and payments.
The App Store’s search feature has always revolved around making it easier for users to find the apps they’re looking for. At the developers’ request, Apple agreed that survey results continue to be based on objective data such as downloads, star ratings, text relevance, and user behavior cues. The agreement will keep the current App Store search engine active for at least the next three years.
To give developers even more flexibility to reach their customers, Apple has also clarified that They can use communication channels like email to report payment methods outside of their iOS app.
As always, developers will pay no commission to Apple for purchases made outside of their app or the App Store. Users must give their permission to receive communications and have the option to unsubscribe.
apple too expand price levels from under 100 to over 500 developers can offer for subscriptions, in-app purchases and paid apps. Developers themselves will continue to choose these prices.
Apple will keep the option for developers appeal the rejection of an application if you perceive unfair treatment, a process that has proven to be successful. Apple has agreed to add content to the app review site to help developers understand how the appeals process works.
In recent years, Apple has provided a lot of additional information about the App Store at apple.com. Apple has agreed to create a annual transparency report with data that will include meaningful statistics about the app review process, such as the number of apps rejected for various reasons, the number of retired clients and developer accounts, objective data on searches and results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store .
Apple will also create a fund to help small US developers, especially now that the world continues to suffer from the effects of COVID-19. To qualify, developers must have entered a maximum of $1 million into the US store for all of their apps during each of the years they had an account between June 4, 2015 and June 31, 2020. This covers 99 % of US developers, details to be released later.