Apple may be preparing changes to its App Store as the company looks for ways to boost revenue and improve margins from its services business, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports in his latest report. Activation newsletter. The exact changes remain unclear, but the announced efforts are largely driven by Apple’s new CEO John Ternus and chief services officer Eddy Cue.
The report also links the talks to the recent departure of longtime Apple chief Phil Schiller. After stepping down as Apple’s SVP of marketing in 2020, Schiller became an Apple Fellow and took over to lead the App Store. According to the report, Schiller opposed the proposed direction because he believed such moves could further frustrate developers and governments.
There are several ways Apple can explore to get more out of the App Store
There is currently no clear indication of exactly what Apple intends to change. However, the report outlines several possible approaches that could increase App Store margins or recurring revenue.
One option would be to change the way Apple reviews apps. The company can reduce or eliminate parts of the manual review process, which can reduce costs. However, the report notes that further automation may be unpopular with users, especially if it affects the effectiveness of app reviews.
Another option could be for Apple to increase its developer membership fee, which is currently $99 per year. The report also suggests that Apple could potentially introduce a subscription fee for big developers based on traffic, effectively shifting some of the infrastructure costs to the companies running high-traffic apps.
For developers, these options can have a much bigger impact than they first seem. Higher costs or new fees could make running apps on the Apple platform more expensive, especially for smaller developers. However, changes in the economics of the App Store may eventually affect how developers price subscriptions or services.
Developers and users will have to wait for Apple’s next move
For Apple, the reported pressure reflects the enormous financial importance of the App Store and its broader services business. But the company faces a delicate balancing act: increasing revenue without making the platform less attractive to developers or drawing additional scrutiny from regulators.
So far, no plans have been confirmed, and the report doesn’t give a specific timeline for changes to the App Store. The next step will be to watch for specific details from Apple on whether it intends to change developer fees, app review, or other aspects of the platform.
In other words, there are no price increases or policy changes yet to be made in the App Store. But if Apple moves forward, developers will likely feel the impact before ordinary users.
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