Apple Inc. is opening its US App Store to allow outside payment options after the Supreme Court refused to consider the company\u2019s appeal in an antitrust suit challenging its practices.<\/p>\n
The company plans to let all third-party apps sold in the US include an outside link to a developer website to process payments for in-app purchases.<\/p>\n
That will bypass Apple\u2019s own payment system, which charges developers a commission of either 15% or 30%.<\/p>\n
Still, the iPhone maker said it would attempt to collect a 12% or 27% revenue share from developers that opt out of the Apple system.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court decision let stand a\u00a02023 appeals court ruling<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>that found Apple\u2019s business model didn\u2019t violate antitrust laws, but that it did flout California\u2019s Unfair Competition Law by limiting the developers ability to communicate about alternate payment systems that may cost less.<\/p>\n Both Apple and\u00a0Fortnite<\/em>\u00a0maker Epic Games Inc. had asked the court to hear an appeal related to the case. The justices turned down the appeals without explanation.<\/p>\n Apple shares slid as much as 2.7% after the court\u2019s announcement before paring their decline. The stock was down 1.2% to $183.63 at the close in New York.<\/p>\n Developers will need to apply for an \u201centitlement\u201d to be able to use outside payments systems.<\/p>\n Apple previously allowed reader apps \u2014 a category that includes video streaming and book reading applications \u2014 to point users to the web to sign up for subscriptions.<\/p>\n Apple will warn customers when they press a link to conduct purchases outside the App Store before letting them proceed.<\/p>\n \u201cAs of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web,\u201d Epic chief executive officer Tim Sweeney said in a thread on the social media<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0site X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n But he took issue with Apple\u2019s plan to charge what he called a \u201c27% tax\u201d on web transactions.<\/p>\n If app developers have to pay that fee to Apple and a cut of 3% to 6% to third-party payment processors, they can\u2019t afford to offer lower costs to consumers, he said. Sweeney also described Apple\u2019s planned warning to customers as a \u201cscare screen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEpic will contest Apple\u2019s bad-faith compliance plan in District Court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Billions of dollars are at stake. In app spending is forecast to reach $182 billion this year and $207 billion in 2025, according to research firm Sensor Tower.<\/p>\n And competitors are ready to steal a piece of it: Microsoft Corp. has said that it\u2019s already in talks to launch a mobile app store focused on gaming.<\/p>\n The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals last year largely affirmed a lower-court judge\u2019s\u00a02021 decision<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0largely rejecting claims by Epic that Apple\u2019s online marketplace policies violated federal antitrust law because they ban third-party app marketplaces on its operating system.<\/p>\n The appeals court also upheld a federal judge\u2019s ruling that the iPhone maker\u2019s practices don\u2019t violate federal antitrust law, rejecting the bulk of Epic\u2019s case against Apple\u2019s App Store.<\/p>\n That decision had been on hold while the Supreme Court appeals were pending. The high court\u2019s decision\u00a0ended a temporary stay<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in the case.<\/p>\n The Epic case was the first to challenge Apple\u2019s lucrative App Store system, which rakes in billions of dollars each year.<\/p>\n In the interim, the company has come under serious pressure around the world, including in Europe where competition enforcers have two antitrust cases pending against the tech giant.<\/p>\n EU authorities are expected to\u00a0fine the company<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0later this year for allegedly using its App Store rules to thwart music-streaming rivals like Spotify Technology SA.<\/p>\n