Let’s be clear what it’s talking about though. It is patting itself on back for not taking a cut of Uber’s cut, or 30% from friggin’ Walmart
Comment Apple and Epic Games have delivered their final arguments in their California bench trial, but Cupertino is still ratcheting up the charm offensive, revealing the App Store “facilitated” a 24 per cent hike in billings and sales in 2020 to a record $643bn. The data comes via a study [PDF] from economic consulting outfit The Analysis Group commissioned by Apple. Some of its findings addressed the points of contention raised during the bruising trial with Epic Games. For example, Apple was forced to defend its anti-steering provisions, which prohibit software developers from pointing to alternative payment methods beyond the walled garden of the App Store. In practice, this means app-makers cannot mention or reference their own payment gateways, where they can process transactions without providing 30 per cent of their revenue to Apple. The report noted that 90 per cent of total billings and sales occurred beyond the App Store, where Apple would not have been able to take a cut. Looking at the data, this seemingly included sales of physical goods and services, where Apple didn’t charge a commission, and companies (like Amazon, Uber, and Lyft) that have developed apps specifically for iOS users are “allowed” to use their preferred payment gateways.
