Apple is going to let users download iOS apps from developer websites and bypass app stores entirely, but only in the European Union. The only catch is that app makers must agree to Apple’s strict rules for distribution, which can include paying the company a commission. In the EU, the iPhone maker plans on launching the “web distribution” option later this spring through a software update. “Apple will provide authorized developers access to APIs that facilitate the distribution of their apps from the web, integrate with system functionality, back up and restore users’ apps, and more,” the company said in Tuesday’s announcement. Apple is doing so to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is requiring the major tech giants to open up their platforms to greater competition. In Apple’s case, this has included allowing interested companies to create their own third-party iOS app stores for the EU. In addition to third-party app stores, the company is going to let “authorized developers distribute their iOS apps to EU users directly from a website the developer owns and operates,” Apple said in a support document. However, the company is implementing strict rules on the web distribution to prevent it from fueling malware and scams. “To install apps from a developer’s website, users will first need to approve the developer to install apps in Settings on their iPhone,” Apple notes. “When installing an app, a system sheet will display information that developers have submitted to Apple for review, like the app name, developer name, app description, screenshots, and system age rating.”Developers interested in distributing iOS apps on their websites also have to cross a high bar. This includes being registered or incorporated in the EU, being a member of “good standing in the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more,” and having an app that received “more than one million first annual installs on iOS in the EU in the prior calendar year.”Apple will also vet the apps, which must receive official “notarization” from the company, before they can distributed on third-party platforms.
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Hence, it looks like Apple is going to restrict the web distribution to major software companies. To distribute an iOS app outside Apple’s App Store, developers also need to agree to the company’s new payment model, which bucks the standard 30% commission. Instead, developers must pay a 17% or 10% commission, and fork over “€0.50 for each first annual install” if their app crosses one million total installs over a 12-month period. Only nonprofit groups, educational organizations, and government agencies are exempt from the fee. Critics have since slammed the new fee structure, calling it anticompetitive. “This is extortion, plain and simple,” Spotify said in January. “For any developer wondering if this might work for you, you need to have less than a million customers and essentially sign up for not growing in the long run.”
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