Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote was packed with AI features, app updates, and a fresh take on iOS aesthetics, but it skipped over one thing developers have been screaming about for years: App Store policies.
You’d be forgiven for assuming this was intentional. Apple had plenty to say about enhancing user experiences, but stayed completely silent on the developer side, where rules and revenue remain the biggest sticking points.
The silence is especially loud when you remember the context. Apple is currently under pressure from regulators around the world, especially in the EU, where the Digital Markets Act has forced some changes, and in the US, where the Department of Justice has taken aim at its alleged anti-competitive practices.
In both cases, a recurring complaint is the same: Apple exerts too much control over app distribution, forces developers to use its payment system, and takes up to 30% of all transactions. These fees and restrictions aren’t a new concern, but the company’s stubbornness in addressing them publicly is notable.
For years now, major developers like Spotify, Epic Games, and even Microsoft have challenged Apple’s tight grip on the App Store. Epic famously took Apple to court in a case that still influences antitrust discourse. The EU forced Apple to allow third-party app stores and sideloading, but only in Europe, and only after substantial wrangling.
Even then, Apple introduced convoluted terms and fees to keep developers under its thumb, such as a new “core technology fee” that penalizes apps distributed outside the App Store if they exceed certain install thresholds. In other words, Apple gave ground but found a way to maintain leverage.
This might explain why the company didn’t touch the topic during WWDC. Apple would rather highlight AI features and show off UI enhancements than revisit the regulatory minefield of its App Store policies.
A Trillion-Dollar Distraction
To be fair, Apple has made some developer-centric improvements over the years: reduced fees for small developers, new APIs, and tools to make app development easier. And it continues to highlight how lucrative the App Store can be, especially for compliant developers. According to recent estimates Apple shared, the App Store facilitated more than $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2023.
That stat comes from Apple’s own commissioned study, and as we reported earlier, most of that revenue didn’t even involve Apple’s cut. But these numbers, while impressive, don’t address the fundamental issue of platform control. The size of the pie doesn’t change who owns the kitchen.
The omission during WWDC suggests that Apple wants to move the conversation forward without addressing the structural issues behind its biggest controversies. And while AI features and new OS perks are great for users, they do nothing to change the fundamental dynamic developers have been pushing back against for over a decade.