iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#1

Post by diversion » Tue, May 06, 2025, 8:41 PM UTC

iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules
theverge.com

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#2

Post by havaloc » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:02 PM UTC

If Apple eventually wins their appeal think among how hard it will be to put the genie back in the bottle.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#3

Post by goosedragons » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:06 PM UTC

havaloc wrote: post #2

If Apple eventually wins their appeal think among how hard it will be to put the genie back in the bottle.

Gonna be a looot of apps refusing to update.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#4

Post by dhosek » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:11 PM UTC

I thought that the terms of the entitlement to be able to link to an external purchase point was that you still needed to offer IAP under Apple’s terms. Did I misunderstand that?

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#5

Post by snkzxbs » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:11 PM UTC

goosedragons wrote: post #3

havaloc wrote: post #2

If Apple eventually wins their appeal think among how hard it will be to put the genie back in the bottle.

Gonna be a looot of apps refusing to update.

I suppose they can just take them down.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#6

Post by zacwest » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:11 PM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #4

I thought that the terms of the entitlement to be able to link to an external purchase point was that you still needed to offer IAP under Apple’s terms. Did I misunderstand that?

Except for 'reader apps' (those that sell digital content, basically) which Amazon is. Plus, Apple's rules are applied unevenly; Amazon is a giant WebView on Apple TV but it's disallowed for everybody else.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#7

Post by granzymes » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:12 PM UTC

havaloc wrote: post #2

If Apple eventually wins their appeal think among how hard it will be to put the genie back in the bottle.

If this significantly cannibalizes Apple’s App Store revenue I would actually expect that they come up with a different way to monetize (maybe based on installs or number of users).

They could also implement that independent of the injunction, which applies to steering rules.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#8

Post by paxys » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:14 PM UTC

Smart that developers are quickly updating their apps while Apple is still appealing the decision. Once users get used to the added purchase options and cheaper pricing there's no going back, regardless of what the final ruling is.

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#9

Post by ezfe » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:19 PM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #4

I thought that the terms of the entitlement to be able to link to an external purchase point was that you still needed to offer IAP under Apple’s terms. Did I misunderstand that?

No, there are no conditions on linking out except that Apple can choose to show an alert along the lines of "You are leaving the app to open a webpage in Safari"

Re: iOS Kindle app now has a ‘get book’ button after changes to App Store rules

#10

Post by Coeur » Tue, May 06, 2025, 9:26 PM UTC

update: thanks for the clarifications!

Unfortunately the article does not answer what the button does, which is quite relevant.

Does it send the user to the amazon website (which would be allowed under the new rule)? Or does it complete the purchase inside the app using the credit card Amazon has on file for the user without paying Apple anything (which would be quite the affront towards Apple)?