Apple is the largest tech company in the world. The companies GDP alone crosses that of many countries. But, as the uncle ben used to say, “with great power comes great responsibilities”.
So, the question now stands as to Exactly how much power app store owners should have over developers?
The companies who believe that Apple is following its draconian app store policies to subdue innovations while increasing their profit are many in the market. These companies have always gone on either a media scuffle or legal scuffle with the Cupertino giant.
Now, however, these companies have actually banded together to form what is now called the “Coalition for App Fairness.”
The group describes itself as, “an independent non-profit organization founded by industry-leading companies to advocate for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem.“
The 13 founding members of the coalition are all the developers who have been in a scuffle with apple at some point in time.
They include some big names like:
- Epic launched a full-fledged war over Apple’s 30 percent cut that’s resulted in the biggest game in the world removed from the App Store entirely.
- ProtonMail, whose CEO said Apple was holding developers “hostage” with the 30 percent fee.
- Basecamp, which called Apple’s policies “exploitative” after updates to its Hey email app was blocked for using the same non-Apple billing technique that Netflix uses.
- Blix claimed that Apple stole its ideas for anonymous email sign-in and then booted it from the App Store.
- Tile testified in Congress that Apple used its platform to undercut its product’s usability on iOS.
The founding members are putting forth a coordinated effort for developers to formally protest against Apple’s rules.
The Coalition states, “companies of any size, in any industry who are committed to protecting consumer choice, fostering competition, and creating a level playing field for all app and game developers globally.”
The Coalition has brought forth three main issues against Apple:
- Apple’s 30 percent cut of any payments sold through the store.
- Lack of any other competitive options for app distribution on iOS.
- Claim that Apple uses its control over iOS to favor its own services.
Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games released a statement citing, “We are joining the Coalition for App Fairness to defend the fundamental rights of creators to build apps and to do business directly with their customers”.
The Coalition for App fairness is hoping to gain influence over apple by utilizing a united front of developers. However, this coalition is still not enough to bend the Cupertino giant.
At the end of the day, these developers have to launch their Apps on Apple’s App Store while paying Apple’s fees. No matter the number of developers forming a united front against apple, it is still hard to imagine the Tech giant suffering any loss.
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