Snap CEO Evan Spiegel says the company is happy to pay Apple's 30% IAP commission as “Snapchat wouldn't exist without the iPhone”
the lawyer is trying to bring up an article that was published while Tim Cook was on the stand, but the judge won't allow it. Not sure what it was. Kosta Eleftheriou / @keleftheriou : Uhm, Snap is a $90B company that's making money from ads, which Apple doesn't see a cent from. They've only ever paid Apple ~$3M from IAP, according to @appfigures. I did not expect to see Spiegel run to cover for Cook in such a dishonest way. 😕 https://twitter.com/... Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi : Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: We're happy to pay Apple 30% — without Apple we wouldn't exist https://www.cnbc.com/... // narrative violation @corvak : Snapchat, Twitter, etc. all make the lion's share of their $$$ by collecting user data and selling it, not through direct purchases via apps. https://twitter.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : This is a good example of a strategy credit since Snapchat makes money from ads not in-app purchases so it costs them nothing to suck up to Apple. Would be different if they were celebrating if Apple asked for 30% of ad revenue from iOS apps. https://www.cnbc.com/... Andrew Woodberry / @xrandrew : What someone who wants to be acquired by Apple would say https://www.cnbc.com/... Steve Streza / @stevestreza : I'm far more okay with a company of the size and scale of Snap paying Apple's 30% tax than small indies and people just getting their app off the ground. That's why the drop to 15% under $1 million was a good start. The anticompetitive arguments still exist without arguing %. https://twitter.com/... David Barnard / @drbarnard : This is part of my problem in objectively considering arguments about various aspects of the App Store. As much as I complain about Apple, I wouldn't have built a software business if it weren't for the App Store. I'm genuinely grateful for that and don't begrudge Apple the 30%. https://twitter.com/... Tyler Marion / @iamtylertmarion : Evan gets it. You can't credit Apple for helping you grow and then after you're big you're mad and saying they won't allow me to grow https://twitter.com/... Austin Johnsen / @austinj : Isn't like all of Snap's revenue from ads which it doesn't pay Apple a commission on? https://twitter.com/... Ben Thompson / @benthompson : Imagine people arguing in 1998 that Microsoft deserves 30% of all software sales with zero alternatives allowed lmao Alex Heath / @alexeheath : Snap just announced its first real pair of AR glasses. They are technically ambitious but only accessible through an application program. Evan Spiegel told me the goal is to “help unlock a new way to use AR hands-free” for Snapchat's creators. More here: https://www.theverge.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had already enlisted economists to defend the App Store commission structure through a commission-defense effort, while critics in related coverage argued the store’s reach reflects its position as the only distribution choice rather than exceptional marketing. Snap is a consequential voice in that argument: its strong Q3 growth report showed a large, expanding platform whose business is not defined solely by in-app purchases.
First-order effects
- Apple gains public backing from Snap’s CEO for the 30% in-app-purchase commission, giving its defense a prominent developer endorsement.
- Snap publicly distinguishes its position from developers challenging App Store fees by saying it accepts the commission as part of the iPhone-based distribution model.
Second-order effects
- Apple can point to Snap’s stance when countering the claim that a uniform commission necessarily harms all major app businesses, even as the critique of App Store distribution choice remains central to opponents’ case.
- Developers whose revenue depends more directly on in-app purchases face a sharper need to explain why Snap’s economics do not represent their own exposure to Apple’s terms.
Third-order effects
- The App Store fee debate is increasingly likely to turn on differences among developer business models, rather than treating the 30% rate as producing the same effect across every app.
- If major ad-led platforms continue to defend Apple’s terms while transaction-led apps contest them, platform-fee scrutiny will confront a more fragmented developer constituency.
The trend: App Store take-rate disputes are evolving from a broad developer-versus-platform clash into a contest over which app business models bear the commission most heavily.