Apple Opens App Store to Alternative Marketplaces in Japan
In Focus
- Apple will allow app developers to add other marketplaces on iPhones
- Developers can access other in-app payment platforms on App Store
- Apple retains authority to approve alternative app marketplaces
Apple is allowing other app stores into iPhones in Japan. According to Reuters, Apple is opening iPhones to alternative app stores in the country to comply with Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act. The new law is aimed at boosting competition in the country’s smartphone market.
App Developers to Bring Marketplaces on iPhones
Following Apple’s latest changes, developers in Japan can launch their own app marketplaces on iPhones and pay the tech company 5% of the revenue they generate. The iPhone maker will also allow developers to access other in-app payment platforms for applications they distribute on the App Store. The tech giant said this option will be provided alongside its payment system, and developers will be subject to its commissions.
In a statement posted on its website, Apple said the latest “changes include new options for developers to distribute apps and process payments, and new protections to help reduce privacy and security risks.”
Apple is allowing third-party app stores on iPhones in Japan at a time when the company continues to face scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions. Earlier this week, app developers in Europe demanded regulatory action against the company over claims that its App Store fees disadvantage European developers.
Payment Outside App Store
Apple’s latest iOS alternative marketplace changes will allow developers in Japan who use the App Store to provide links that support payments outside their apps. For this kind of payment, Apple will charge a 15% commission.
The company will charge a 26% commission for ordinary in-app purchases on its App Store.
Apple has taken steps to protect user data by creating a system for handling interoperability requests in Japan. However, the company says it might turn it off if it puts sensitive user data at risk.
“Across these changes, Apple has worked to reduce new privacy and security risks the law creates to provide users in Japan the best and safest experience possible,” Apple stated in a blog post.
Growing App Store Scrutinize
Japan is the latest country to scrutinize Apple’s App Store fees model. For a long time, app developers have had to pay commissions of up to 30% on digital services or goods purchased through the App Store.
In the U.S., litigation over commission rates for app developers is ongoing. The company has appealed a $580 million fine imposed against it in the EU for keeping app developers from directing users to cheaper deals outside the App Store.
Apple also risks a lawsuit after an EU court ruled that an App Store antitrust case can be heard by a Dutch court. Like Japan, the region continues to push the company to open its devices to different app marketplaces. But the approach applied by Japan varies slightly from the EU’s.
In Japan, the tech company retains the authority to approve alternative app marketplaces seeking to be included in the iPhone. Apple will also maintain its age ratings requirement for apps sold on other marketplaces and run security checks known as notarization on them.
