Epic Games scores for developers in Apple court case

Epic Games has scored for developers in its court battle against Apple over what it considers to be monopolistic App Store policies.

The gaming behemoth took Apple to court following the removal of Fortnite from the App Store. Apple justified its decision as being due to Epic Games breaking App Store policy and using its own billing system.

While smaller developers are now subject to handing a slightly fairer 15 percent cut of sales to Apple, larger developers like Epic...

13 September 2021 | App Stores

Developers appear to be losing interest in macOS

Analysis conducted by Appfigures suggests that developers are losing interest in macOS.

The number of Mac app releases has been on a steady decline for years, but Appfigures has noted a rapid decrease in recent months that shows no sign of slowing:

In 2020, developers released 392 apps on average per month. In 2021, that’s dropped to 343 per month.

Appfigures isn’t too optimistic about the outlook going forward and forecasts a drop to the low 200s for...

1 September 2021 | App Stores

Google announces raft of Play Store security policy updates

Google has announced a number of changes to its Play Store security policies that will come into effect over the coming year.

Starting in September, a new section will be added to Google’s Enforcement policy that will mean inactive or otherwise abandoned developer accounts will be closed after one year of dormancy.

October will see various policies introduced on different dates.

On 15 October, the Device and Network Abuse policy will be clarified to prohibit...

30 July 2021 | Android

Windows 11’s app store supports Android apps, enables devs to keep 100% of profits

Microsoft has unveiled Windows 11 along with a new app store that supports Android apps and enables devs to keep all of their profits.

Windows’ built-in app store has never exactly been a huge success when compared to those of Apple and Google. Microsoft has made several attempts over the years to give its app store a jumpstart – including giving developers up to a 95 percent cut of profits instead of the 70 percent that has long been the industry norm – but it’s never...

24 June 2021 | App Stores

Apple is now facing an antitrust investigation in Germany

Germany’s competition watchdog, the Bundeskartellamt, has announced the launch of its own antitrust investigation into Apple’s practices.

Apple will now face yet another probe into its oft-criticised “walled garden” and whether it abuses its market position with unfair policies.

"An ecosystem which extends across various markets may be an indication that a company holds such a position,” the Bundeskartellamt said. “It is often very difficult for other...

21 June 2021 | App Stores

Mac Apps Report arms developers with useful consumer insights

Setapp has released its first Mac Apps Report which provides developers with useful insights into consumer attitudes.

When it comes to one-off purchases versus subscriptions, over double prefer to pay for a lifetime license (36%) compared to an ongoing fee (14%). However, 38 percent selected the “it depends” answer which indicates some flexibility for the right app.

Interestingly, 58 percent of respondents at least somewhat agreed with the statement that they prefer...

25 May 2021 | Apple

Class-action lawsuit could force Apple to compensate users for app prices

A class-action lawsuit filed in the UK wants to force Apple to compensate users for potentially inflated app prices.

Until recently, Apple took a 30 percent commission on all app sales. Most app developers feel the cut is unjustifiable and critics believe that it’s an abuse of Apple’s market dominance.

Apple claims the legal action is “meritless”.

Similar criticisms have been made about other app stores but Apple’s grip over its operating system means...

11 May 2021 | App Stores

Report: 96% of iOS 14.5 users in the US are blocking ad tracking

According to a new report, around 96 percent of iOS users in the US are using Apple’s new privacy feature to block ad tracking.

Starting with iOS 14.5, apps that wish to track users for advertising purposes must ask for explicit user consent.

Flurry Analytics has been tracking daily opt-in and opt-out rates following iOS 14.5’s launch and found that – of a sample of 2.5 million active users – only around four percent in the US are allowing apps access to their...

7 May 2021 | Advertising

Google CEO teases ‘significant’ announcements at I/O 2021 as some normality returns

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told investors this week to expect “significant product updates and announcements” at this year’s I/O developer conference.

Pichai said the company’s product releases are returning to their normal pace now that employees have adjusted to working from home.

Google is allowing employees to return voluntarily from next month and is expanding its remote working policy to allow for working from overseas for more than 14 days a year if they...

29 April 2021 | Android