App Store

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Apple’s 85/15 Subscription Split Doesn’t Help Developers Much

Andrew Orr ·

Unlike Apple’s 70/30 split for in-app purchases, it offers an 85/15 split for subscriptions from customers that stay subscribed for at least a year. But Jacob Eiting writes how that doesn’t really help developers because of subscriber churn.

No matter how great an app is, subscribers are going to churn. Sometimes it’s because of a credit card expiring or some other billing issue. And sometimes it’s more of a pause, and the user comes back after a few months. But the majority of churn comes from subscribers who, for whatever reason, decide that the app just isn’t worth paying for anymore. If a subscriber churns before the 1-year mark, the developer never sees that 85% split. And even if the user resubscribes, Apple and Google reset the clock if a subscription has lapsed for more than 60 days.

Cool Stuff Found

App Store Connect 1.5 Update Brings New Icon, TestFlight

Andrew Orr ·

The App Store Connect 1.5 update brings a new icon that uses design language from macOS Big Sur. It also lets developers set up internal TestFlight beta testing and more. Release Notes: Add up to 100 members of your team to test beta builds of your app; edit test details for beta builds, view build activity and status, and expire builds; answer required export compliance questions; remove internal testers.

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Deliveries 9 From JuneCloud Arrives September 30

Andrew Orr ·

Deliveries 9 from JuneCloud arrives Wednesday, September 30 for Apple devices. It will be a subscription-based app that costs US$0.99/month or US$4.99/year.

If you previously purchased the app, you’ll get a complimentary subscription for up to 18 months from the date you purchased it. If you bought the app more than 18 months ago, your complimentary subscription will end February 1, 2021. You’ll continue to have access to most features of the app even after your complimentary subscription ends.

On their support page it looks like the app will be useless without a subscription. If you want to add new deliveries and sync with iCloud then you’ll have to pay up.

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Plot Twist: Apple Also Has to Follow Google Play Store Rules

Andrew Orr ·

Google has updated its Play Store rules, saying that developers have to use Google Play’s billing system. From Daring Fireball:

Most reports are mentioning Spotify and Netflix here, but unless I’m missing something this policy change (or as Google claim, “clarification”) will also apply to Apple Music — the Android version of which charges users who sign up directly. The fact that Apple forces all subscription streaming services to use Apple’s in-app payments on iOS but doesn’t use Google’s on Android for Apple Music has been a source of much heckling.

I’m on the side of Apple in the Epic v Apple case, but if Apple has to follow Google’s similar rules for developers when it hadn’t already, simultaneously enforcing similar rules on its own side for developers, is hilarious to me. I hope that made sense.

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Microsoft Still Interested in Bringing Xbox Game Pass to App Store

Andrew Orr ·

During an interview with CNBC, Microsoft Xbox lead Phil Spencer says the company remains committed to bringing Xbox Game Pass to the App Store.

With Apple changing the App Store policies, the Xbox Game Pass will be able to exist as a catalog app, which means that each game that will be available through the Game Pass will have to go through its indivudla [sic] review on the App Store. This is not really viable for a number of reasons, simply because Microsoft is talking about how it would still force a “bad experience” on the users.