Mini Apps Partner Program
Apple (MacRumors, MacStories, Hacker News):
Today, we’re introducing the Mini Apps Partner Program, which expands on the App Store’s ongoing support for apps that offer mini apps. Mini apps are self-contained experiences that are built using web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript. This program is designed to help developers who host mini apps grow their business and further the availability of mini apps on the App Store — all while providing a great customer experience.
Participating developers may benefit from a reduced commission rate of 15% on the sales of qualifying In-App Purchases. To be eligible for this reduced commission rate, participating apps must support certain App Store technologies, including the Declared Age Range API and the Advanced Commerce API in order to help provide a safe and seamless experience for customers of all ages.
Mini apps are software packages, scripts, or game content that are added after app installation and executed on the device, provided such code is written in HTML5 or JavaScript, or another language approved by Apple. All such code must comply with Section 3.3.1(B) of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
[…]
A qualifying mini app within the Mini Apps Partner Program is one that’s put out by a person or entity that’s not directly or indirectly controlled by you, nor under common control with you.
Under the arrangement, Apple will begin handling in-app payment processing for qualifying mini apps and mini games distributed inside WeChat, China’s dominant all-purpose mobile platform.
[…]
While the new 15% commission is half of Apple’s standard 30% rate for many App Store transactions, Bloomberg estimates that the size of the WeChat ecosystem makes the agreement potentially worth billions of dollars to Apple.
When it’s small EU developers paying a lower commission, Apple is all, “they kept the savings for themselves.” When it’s Tencent (revenue $27.2 billion per quarter), Apple’s line is that it’s to help developers grow their business.
Today, there are a variety of native iOS apps that offer mini apps, including messengers like LINE or WeChat, or those that offer mini games, like Discord, for example. More recently, AI providers have begun moving into the mini app space. Notably, ChatGPT recently launched apps that run inside its chatbot, allowing users to engage with apps like Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. Some have theorized that this platform could eventually evolve to threaten the App Store’s business model if app engagement and transactions moved inside ChatGPT.
Previously:
- Apple-Funded Study on EU Alternative App Store Business Terms
- Complying With Texas Age Verification
- App Store Advanced Commerce API
- Apple Pressures ByteDance and Tencent Over IAP
- Allowing iOS Game Emulators and Mini Apps
- DOJ Investigates Apple’s Treatment of Roblox
- Roblox in the App Store
- Apple Video Partner Program
- Seeking Special App Store Deals
- WeChat’s Apps Within an App
1 Comment RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
15% is better for Apple than 0%, which is what they got prior. The developers were keeping 100% for themselves in those cases.
