Apple’s App Store revenue fell by 5% year-on-year in September, with games revenue down by 14%, according to Sensor Tower analytics.
Morgan Stanley, which carried out financial modeling based on the data, said that this was the biggest drop seen since it first started tracking, back in 2015. The fall is likely explained by two factors …
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Security researchers discovered 85 apps engaged in ad fraud; ten are on the App Store, and the other 75 are on Google Play. Combined, people downloaded them over 13 million times. They’re part of a new ad fraud campaign named “Scylla.”
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Apple announced on Monday that it will soon raise App Store prices in multiple countries, including Japan, South Korea, and many others in Europe. The price increases will take effect on both App Store apps and in-app purchases starting in October.
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Apple gets caught up in all kinds of controversy, from antitrust issues to advertising, but one of the stranger ones concerns the company’s involvement with The App Association.
A piece this morning claims that the company exerts significant influence over a body designed to represent developers, when their interests may be at odds with those of the App Store owner …
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Earlier this year Apple announced that it would expand its ad business by adding new ad slots to the App Store. Although details of when the new ad slots would become available to developers were uncertain at the time, a new CNBC report claims that Apple will put this expansion into action by the end of this year.
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A report shows the average price of in-app purchase has increased 40% on iOS since last year, and one of the main reasons is Apple’s App Tracking Transparency function that it’s making it more expensive to reach the right users.
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The Information has a lengthy Phil Schiller profile, following his shift from head of worldwide marketing to Apple Fellow back in 2020.
Based on interviews with unnamed colleagues, it’s something of a puff piece, but does contain some interesting snippets …
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Apple has just released the long-awaited iOS 16 for all iPhone users, not to mention other updates like watchOS 9 and tvOS 16. However, it seems that the company’s servers are a bit unstable at the moment, as several users have been experiencing App Store errors when installing app updates.
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A new European Union San Francisco office has been opened, aiming to better liaise with US tech giants on new antitrust laws …
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App developer and former Pinterest engineer Kosta Eleftheriou became well known after exposing multiple issues with Apple’s App Store, including million-dollar scams by sketchy developers. Eleftheriou filed a lawsuit against Apple last year, but now the developer and company have reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit.
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Datings apps plan to give no break for Apple, as Tinder owner Match Group filed an antitrust case against the Cupertino company, now in India. It accuses Apple of “monopolist conduct” by forcing developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases.
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In February, 9to5Mac reported that the popular Authenticator app was facing iOS copycats. At the time, complaints about the App Store review process were rising. But six months from there, it doesn’t seem much has changed as 2Stable developers are now facing the same issue, raising the fundamental question of Apple’s App Store as a gatekeeper from scammers and “a place you can trust.”
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Another controversial story about Apple’s App Store review process comes from Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov. He says that his next app update is stuck with Apple’s review team for two weeks without explanation or any feedback from it.
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Last year’s Epic Games versus Apple ruling left neither side happy, with both the developer and iPhone maker filing appeals against the judgement. The appeal hearing has now been scheduled for October 21, and it looks set to be an uphill battle for Apple.
Apple and Epic will each get only 20 minutes to make oral arguments, but we may also be hearing from the antitrust division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and potentially also an argument on behalf of 35 state attorneys general – each of which is effectively siding with Epic …
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AAPL investors need to see inside the company’s “$70 billion black box,” say analysts – a reference to Apple lumping together all its Services revenue into one figure, despite the fact that it effectively covers ten different businesses with the company.
The issue is vital to understanding the level of the threat posed to Apple by antitrust regulations in respect of the App Store, they say …
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A firm of lawyers that successfully negotiated two Apple antitrust settlements is once again taking on the Cupertino company.
Hagens Berman, which won a $560M e-book settlement, and more recently a $100M App Store one, is again targeting Apple’s 15% or 30% cut of iOS app sales …
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Apple is continuing to pushback against looming antitrust legislation in the United States that could bring major changes to the App Store. A letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee by Apple and obtained by 9to5Mac specifically counters claims that Apple’s anti-sideloading stance is “unfounded, disingenuous, and dishonest.”
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Apple is expanding its advertising business and adding two new ad slots to the App Store. Currently, the App Store has two ad slots: one on the main ‘Search’ tab and one in the Search results. The two new App Store ads announced today will bring advertisements to the App Store ‘Today’ homepage, as well as to individual app pages.
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Apple is coming under scrutiny for how its App Store review process handles submissions of cryptocurrency trading and wallet apps. In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook today, the chair of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs questioned what “measures your company is taking to prevent fraudulent activity in your app store.”
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We’re not seeing much progress with US antitrust legislation just at present, but if the two bills do make it through the Senate, that raises the prospect of Apple default apps being banned. Which is to say, Apple could not pre-install its own stock apps on iPhones, instead having to offer customers a choice of core apps.
Apple might respond with a choice of key apps during initial iPhone setup, likely with its own apps top of the lists …
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Democrats last week urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to schedule votes on two pieces of tech antitrust legislation, but he last night told donors that he won’t do it yet.
At the heart of the impasse is a disagreement about whether enough senators would vote in favor of the two bills – one of which would have a big impact on Apple …
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In August, Apple is holding live presentations to help developers make the most out of their App Store experience. Throughout the presentation, there will be an expert ready to answer questions from developers who are part of the Apple Developer Program.
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Two proposed US antitrust laws should be put to a vote sometime in the next few weeks, say Democratic members of Congress.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, they express concerns that time is running out to approve the laws before the end of the year …
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Russia says it will fine Apple for violating the country’s antitrust laws and abusing its “dominant position in the app store market” as “Apple prohibits iOS app developers from telling clients inside the app about the possibility of paying for purchases outside the App Store or using alternative payment methods.”
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