Hyderabad: After Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek criticised Apple’s new plan to comply with the European Union’s tech regulations, Microsoft has now showed its own concerns, calling the App Store changes in the EU “a step in the wrong direction.”
The new App Store changes, announced ahead of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) in March, will require developers using third-party app stores to pay 0.50 euro for each annual app install after 1 million downloads. Apple will also still take a 17 per cent commission from the developers who choose to use third-party payment processors.
"We believe constructive conversations drive change and progress towards open platforms and greater competition," said Microsoft Xbox president Sarah Bond in a post on X.
"Apple's new policy is a step in the wrong direction. We hope they listen to feedback on their proposed plan and work towards a more inclusive future for all," she added.
Bond is responsible for overseeing all of Microsoft's Xbox platform and hardware work. Epic CEO Sweeney has labeled Apple's App Store changes as "hot garbage," and said that "Apple's plan to thwart Europe's new Digital Markets Act law is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance."
Earlier, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claimed the changes as "at best vague and misleading." “Apple has proposed an unworkable alternative that developers would have to be locked into until the end of their businesses,” said Daniel Ek.
Ek outlined his issues with Apple’s announcements in a long blog post. According to the Spotify CEO, the combination of the new 0.50 cent Euro fee and a lack of flexibility around App Store in-app payments makes this a bad deal for most developers.
While Epic CEO Tim Sweeney also criticised the changes in a post on his social media handle. According to Sweeney, the new rules are an “anticompetitive scheme rife with junk fees”, and an example of “malicious compliance”.
X owner Elon Musk said these changes are "very concerning".
Changes announced by Apple:
- iPhone users in European Union nations will no longer be limited to the App Store, and can now sideload from other app stores as well. These regulations will come via the iOS 17.4 version.
- Developers will be equipped with the option of using their own payment service for in-app purchases and subscription, or link it to third-party systems.
- Apple is opening NFC(near-field communication) to third-party developers, allowing them access to the feature, and support to ‘tap for pay’ for platforms other than Apple Pay.
- iOS will have the option to switch default browser from Safari to Chrome or even Firefox.
- The Epic Games-developed online video game, Fortnite is likely to be released on iOS in the coming months.
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