Apple overhauls EU App Store to comply with DMA: developers can push offers and alt payments, and the Core Technology Fee will be swapped for tiered commission
Apple’s EU terms had already moved toward reduced commissions and alternative distribution, including a 17% standard commission and 10% small-developer rate announced in early 2024. The latest overhaul changes the commercial mechanism again: developers can promote offers and alternative payments, while the Core Technology Fee gives way to tiered commission.
The arc is significant because earlier EU proposals were criticized as preserving Apple’s control despite formal DMA compliance, and Apple later added web-based app distribution for qualifying developers. This update puts payment choice and platform monetization at the center of that continuing regulatory negotiation.
First-order effects
EU developers can direct users toward offers and alternative payment methods, reducing the App Store’s exclusivity over the purchase path.
Apple replaces the Core Technology Fee with a tiered commission structure, changing how EU developers evaluate the cost of using App Store distribution and payments.
Second-order effects
Developers will compare Apple’s tiered commission against the operational cost and conversion trade-offs of handling payments themselves; payment providers gain a clearer route to compete for that volume.
The redesign answers a recurring challenge that Apple’s earlier EU framework did not provide fair or reasonable commissions, increasing pressure on the company to show that its revised terms offer meaningful commercial choice.
Third-order effects
If enforcement continues to require practical—not merely formal—choice, EU app distribution may evolve toward a regulated platform take-rate model in which commissions and steering rules are repeatedly scrutinized.
The EU could become a distinct operating environment for mobile developers, with platform power increasingly contested through payment access, customer communication, and distribution terms rather than storefront access alone.
The trend: DMA enforcement is pushing mobile gatekeepers from controlling every transaction path toward regulated, contestable terms for distribution and monetization.
Apple is moving from “Core Technology Fee” to “Core Technology Commission” in EU. — I'm pretty sure EU said CTF is not compliant, and the CTC won't be compliant. — If that's not going to impose a penalty for malicious compliance 🤷 — https://developer.apple.com/ ... [images…
Apple's distribution options will only be DMA compliant if and when e.g. a third party music app can match or undercut Apple Music's pricing without wiping out its own profit margin. — Apple's new terms might not be the colossal ‘fuck you’ the Core Technology Fee was to develop…
Will Apple's new EU fee structure pass this time? — It all boils down to: can an app trying to compete with an Apple app offer the same level of pricing that Apple has. — And the answer is, still, no. Apple still maintains the unfair advantage in both discoverability and in p…
There is a long table explaining what the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 is. If you choose to pay the reduced store services rate, you lose: expedited app review, automatic updates, school/business store, you only show in App Store search for an exact match, no user review…
I think, based on my read of this, that if you're a small developer on the App Store (and can qualify for the SBS), and want to also provide your apps on an external storefront with some other payment service, your total commission will be 10%, but with no way of Apple tracking t…
Apple's new Digital Markets Act malicious compliance scheme is blatantly unlawful in both Europe and the United States and makes a mockery of fair competition in digital markets. Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store.
Apple has chosen defiance of the law rather than compliance. Compliance with Article 5(4) of the DMA has always been as simple as striking a few lines from its developer agreement. Following a non-compliance decision by the EC in April, Apple has declared itself above the law.
Apple now has three(?!) different types of fees across two different tiers for developers in Europe. Absolutely draconian, bureaucratic nightmare. Can't believe Apple is willing to torch all semblance of simplicity just to spite the EU. https://www.macrumors.com/...
In the spirit of always proposing a solution when raising a problem, here's how it should work: 1) the App Store provides all of its best features for all developers and apps; 2) all developers are free to use Apple payments, developer payments, or any combination, however they w…
Apple blocks auto-updates to these apps, cripples search for them, and blocks customer support and family sharing, and otherwise ensures that using these apps will be an intentionally-miserable experience for users and a commercial failure for developers.
So the updated EU thing is basically we've gone from 27% to 18% and it's now only for purchases commenced directly from an in-app action going to the web? (plus an additional 2% fee for the first six months)
I have zero confidence the European Commission is up to the challenge of dealing with Apple's compliance theatre games. In addition to tech monopolists' attempts to make EU's smart DMA regs into a political football (or is it a futbol?). Anyway, call Judge YGR for advice. [image]