Patreon today confirmed upcoming changes to its iOS app, which will see fees for new subscriptions go up because Apple is enforcing its App Store rules on digital purchases. Apple is requiring Patreon to adopt the in-app purchase system, a process that Patreon started at the beginning of the year.
In January 2024, Patreon started using in-app purchases and paying Apple a 30 percent fee on digital products, but beginning in November, new Patreon memberships will also need to be done through in-app purchase and will be subject to the fee as well.
This might epitomize the way Apple can be penny-wise but pound-foolish when it comes to the App Store. However much money they think they might get from these Patreon subscriptions once the Patreon iOS app switches to IAP, I refuse to believe it’s worth the further degradation of Apple’s brand that this dispute with Patreon is incurring. The paying users of Patreon are fans. They are such dedicated and devoted fans of certain creators and artists that they choose to pay those creators money. And now these users are being informed that Apple is putting the squeeze on these creators and inserting themselves into a relationship that these fans see as being between them and the artists they support.
Whether that decision was made by Apple or Patreon, of if it is something which is a consequence of how App Store billing works, is unclear to me. But one thing is true regardless: Apple’s 30% commission is at least double the rate charged by Patreon itself, and only the latter has any material effect on the relationship between a creative professional and their supporters.
The whole notion of a platform like Patreon just doesn’t fit with the App Store’s model of taking a fee out of every single transaction for digital goods or services. It could, perhaps, if Apple were willing to only accept a commission from Patreon’s own share — a commission on a commission — but they’re not.
Apple is providing negative value and then taking a larger cut. Sure, it is providing access to its platform, but it’s forcing creators into funding models that work for Apple, not necessarily for them. A lot of creators create things when they have the time to create them, not on some pre-defined schedule. Apple’s obsession with subscription-based revenue, however, something that lets it level out its quarterly results, is now having a knock-on effect on other platforms, spreading like a services revenue venereal disease.
This is the rule for what Apple calls a “Multiplatform Service”, which is somehow different from a “‘Reader’ App” that allows users to subscribe to “magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video”. A “reader” app does not have to provide In-App Purchases which are equivalent to those available outside the app, but a “Multiplatform Service” does. It seems likely to me both Patreon and Substack are “Multiplatform Services” in Apple’s view.
iPhones are such an essential part of the market that it’s suicide for most businesses to not ship on the iPhone, which means they’re forced to use Apple’s terms and conditions. I think this gives too much power to Apple and they should be forced to either give up their excessive commissions or their exclusivity on software distribution.
We’ve already passed the point of security alert overload. The first time or two that the Sequoia beta prompted me to reauthorize, I admit that I didn’t read the text of the alert beyond determining that I should click Continue To Allow to capture the screenshot I needed for whatever I was writing. The dialog came in direct response to the keyboard shortcut I had just pressed, and I have used and trusted CleanShot X for years. It wasn’t until the dialog popped up a few more times that I read it closely to see if I was missing something. I wasn’t.
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By prompting for continued permission, Apple is asking if we still trust previously trusted apps. What would change in any short period of time that would have us reconsider this action? We would need new information to make a different choice. I could see an argument for double-checking permissions a few days after the first launch to ensure the user knows the app is still active, but repeated checks? After every restart?
Flighty is an app that helps me track my flights on a day-to-day basis and keeps an ongoing record of my travels worldwide. The paid version even gives you a year-end summary that can be a fun look back at your recent travels.
In August, Flighty got a big upgrade. The latest version allows users to see, in many cases, why their flights are delayed. Flighty now tracks late aircraft issues and airspace congestion to help predict delays hours in advance. That can help you get a jump on other passengers and potentially switch flights or even skip the trip altogether.
The appeal of this app is being able to seamlessly transfer playlists from Spotify to Apple Music; you just need to connect your accounts to the app and it will match the songs in your Spotify library to the equivalent versions on Apple Music. It's as simple as clicking your playlist, and then clicking the "save to your library".
Apple recently rejected DOS emulator iDOS 3 from the App Store, but following App Store rule changes that look to have cleared the way for PC emulator apps, iDOS 3 is now available for download, developer Chaoji Li announced.
India's antitrust body has taken the unusual step of recalling two reports that detailed alleged breaches of competition law by Apple, which complained that the regulator had disclosed commercial secrets to competitors including Tinder-owner Match.
The move will prolong an already delayed investigation, which began in 2021, centering on Apple's alleged abuse of its dominant position in the apps market to force developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, at a fee of up to 30%.
As Mr John Gruber has pointed out, there are many business models that does not work with Apple's App Store business model. Essentially, if you are a middle man, you will not survive in the App Store.
However, if you are the middle man, your business model will have to take care of marketing for your customers. In fact, marketing is probably one of your core competency you need to have for your platform to be successful. And you cannot out-source that to Apple, or Google or Microsoft or anyone else.
Perhaps it's time to get out of Apple's eco system. If your customers can already discover you outside of the App Store, then just put a big bold message telling your customers why you are not on Apple's App Store, and how you are going to use the money you save from not giving Apple any percentage.
Apple will listen when money is at stake.
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Thanks for reading.