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Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

axios.com

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Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#2
This is the same judge that is doing the Apple vs Epic ruling. I would expect the final ruling on Apple vs Epic to, ultimately, have very similar results to this settlement (or would have).

If you've been following Hoeg Law's hours long legal commentary on Apple vs Epic, they believed the most likely resolution would be Apple being forced to remove the "anti-steering rule" which gags developers from talking about alternative payment options. This settlement has that already. It looks like, unless there is a major upset, the Apple vs Epic ruling will be virtually moot (in terms of legal consequences that benefit developers) unless it gets appealed.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#3
I love how in their press release they say: "The terms of the agreement will help make the App Store an even better business opportunity for developers, while maintaining the safe and trusted marketplace users love."

This is going to make the App Store even better! You're going to love it! (not because we did this on our own, but because we saw the writing on the wall and were forced to).

I can't stand how they are burning so much good faith with developers to keep the rent of the app store.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#4

I love how in their press release they say: "The terms of the agreement will help make the App Store an even better business opportunity for developers, while maintaining the safe and trusted marketplace users love." This is going to make the App Store even better! You're going to love it! (not because we did this on our own, but because we saw the writing on the wall and were forced to). I can't stand how they are b…

Well, what else are they going to do, not release a statement? If you release a statement about a legal ruling you lost, it's obviously going to be spun from whoever published it.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#6
So you can now tell users that you can pay/subscribe on your website but you can’t offer alternative payment in-app (or can you if it’s a webview?)

But can you do that instead of offering in app payment? Or will you be required to have both.

Personably I really don’t want to see alternative payment methods in app unless they follow the same policies and APIs as the existing ones. I hate that Adobe will stop giving my access as soon as I cancel my subscription. I love that I can cancel my Lightroom subscription from Apple’s subscription list with no fuss and have it expire when it’s due.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#7
I don't understand... did anything even really change? Like, "more price points"... but that seems like a non-sequitur :/. A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail... which I guess they insist wasn't allowed before?

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#8
post #7

I don't understand... did anything even really change? Like, "more price points"... but that seems like a non-sequitur :/. A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail... which I guess they insist wasn't allowed before?

I don't think the list of price points was the problem as much as it would be nice to have versioned upgrades. (I.e. FileMaker 2, FileMaker 3, FileMaker 4, and so on under the same listing and with access to old versions). Or, you know, a lower developer cut. Or competitive app stores.

I'm just in the same boat... how did you make that your issue worth agreeing over? That's something Apple might have fixed on a Friday afternoon.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#9
post #7

I don't understand... did anything even really change? Like, "more price points"... but that seems like a non-sequitur :/. A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail... which I guess they insist wasn't allowed before?

> A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail

It really says something that "allowing" businesses to communicate certain information with their own customers via an independent channel was considered a concession in this settlement. I'm still wrapping my head around it.

Re: Apple agrees to settle potential class action suit by U.S. developers

#10
post #7

I don't understand... did anything even really change? Like, "more price points"... but that seems like a non-sequitur :/. A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail... which I guess they insist wasn't allowed before?

> A big change would be letting developers make it clear to users how to use alternative payment options, but Apple's press release only says via e-mail It really says something that "allowing" businesses to communicate certain information with their own customers via an independent channel was considered a concession in this settlement. I'm still wrapping my head around it.

I think it's important to wait for the final language from the settlement. After all, the original PR Post from Apple doesn't actually mention the $100 million fund that Axios does.
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