Apple has rolled out its new Small Business Program that cuts the amount of commission it charges some app developers.
As part of the program, developers earning less than $1 million a year will pay 15 percent on all transactions, half of the current 30 percent rate.
The program was announced in November and was supposed to kick off on January 1st, but a report from AppleInsider suggests that Apple has started the program early for some developers.
Jacob Gorban, the founder of Apparent Software, tweeted that the new App Store fee is now in effect. Other reports indicate that changes have gone into effect for some other developers as well.
Apple’s App Store policies have been long criticized by developers who say the tech giant has too much control of the review process and that its commission rate is unfair. For instance, Epic Games intentionally broke Apple’s rules on in-app purchases in protest of the policies.
Epic’s clash with Apple has been backed by several other players such as Microsoft and has led to growing public discontent with Apple’s policies. There’s also the possibility that the tech giant could face an antitrust complaint in the United States.
When the program was introduced, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that “small businesses are the backbone of our global economy” and that this new change will help them “write the next chapter of creativity and prosperity on the App Store.”
Via: AppleInsider