{"id":29810,"date":"2020-08-18T15:19:05","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T19:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=29810"},"modified":"2023-05-29T10:18:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T14:18:00","slug":"time-to-change-the-app-store-sales-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/18\/time-to-change-the-app-store-sales-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Change the App Store Sales Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drew McCormack<\/a> (tweet<\/a>):<\/p>\n

But that is not the app world of 2020. It has become a huge, multifaceted market, with multiple platforms, crossover with the web, and a multitude ways to make money. Very few companies now live solely within Apple’s city walls; they are more like multinationals, with offices in many cities, trading across borders in a global marketplace. Apple’s simplistic feudal system, taxing income alone, feels dated.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

[The] landlord’s success is based on bringing value to the property itself, and my success derives from how well I execute on my business, the restaurant. It would feel wrong if the landlord demanded a cut of the restaurant profits, something they have had no part in.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

To make it in today’s app world, you have to find your own users. A company like Netflix will have benefited very little from being featured by Apple, and that is no doubt why they feel miffed at Apple taking 30% of income they have worked hard for.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

He wants a rent-like fee based on download tiers, plus a (smaller) percentage for apps that use Apple’s payment processing.<\/p>\n\n

Max Seelemann<\/a>:<\/p>\n

We’d be a step closer to fairness if apps that monetize outside would also pay for the visibility and distribution. Especially business apps and ad-driven platforms pay nothing but get all the benefits for free.<\/p>\n

Developers don’t owe Apple for the iPhone or the toolchain. That’s nuts. Apple earns for that from the devices sales. Building an SDK is a service for the users not the developers. They sell more phones because of apps available and their quality.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Ben Thompson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

And worst of all, while this was happening, App Store functionality, particularly around payments, was being left in the dust by companies like Stripe, Square, Shopify, and even PayPal. While these companies were making it radically easier for developers to accept payments, offer subscriptions, even get loans and manage their finances, Apple’s payment solution took years to even support subscriptions (never mind that that solution is so difficult to use that a startup just raised $15 million<\/a> to provide basic tracking functionality); in-app purchase still doesn’t support traditional trials or upgrades, the importance of which I’ve been writing about for years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The App Store was, at least at the beginning, a wonderful example of this promise; as Jobs noted even the smallest developer could reach every iPhone on earth. Unfortunately, without even a whiff of competition, the App Store has now become a burden for most small developers, who instead of relying on the end-to-end functionality offered by, say, Stripe, have to support at least two payment solutions, the combined functionality of which is limited to the lowest common denominator, i.e. the App Store.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Frank Illenberger<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I would be more than happy to pay 30% for sales through the Apple App Stores if they were first class for both customers and developers. But until we get there they have to fix a lot of problems[…]<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The StoreKit framework is deficient. Implementing subscriptions is extremely tedious and unreliable and the customer facing purchase UI only consists of raw modal alerts loosely popping up in any order.<\/p>\n

Why are subscription apps and apps with free trials treated as if they were free? This is deeply wrong, confusing, and is leading to a load of problems like unwarranted bad reviews and unfair placement in the charts.<\/p>\n

Apple does not offer a path for paid upgrades but at the same time limits the types of apps that are eligible for subscriptions. This severely restricts business opportunities for a lot of apps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n