The “backlash” effect for Apple continues after a blistering ruling by a federal judge earlier this week that ordered the company to stop charging for purchases made outside the App Store. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple was using loopholes to circumvent her own ruling against the company from 2021. Companies are wasting no time in streamlining payments outside of Apple’s walled garden, and Spotify is the latest to make these changes.
In the latest update available on the App Store, version 9.0.40, Spotify added external links to purchase subscriptions, allowing it to advertise lower prices and different tiers without giving back nearly a third of its subscription revenue to Apple. These changes also lay the groundwork for microtransactions with specific content, such as audiobooks, to take place outside the app. Spotify hopes that these changes will create “seamless buying opportunities that directly benefit creators.”
In a blog post published on Spotify’s website, the company is outraged that it took so long for Apple to comply with a previous ruling by the same judge in the landmark Epic Games case, which dealt with the same issue. It reads, in part, “The fact that we cannot provide these basic services that were authorized by the judge four years ago is absurd. The court’s ruling made it clear that Apple has deliberately abused its market power to intentionally harm others and benefit only itself.”
Epic Games, which initiated the lawsuit, celebrated the legal victory by announcing a limited zero commission policy for games sold through the Epic Games Store. The company also announced the launch of EGS online stores to support in-app purchases, which will take place next month.
Although Apple said it would comply with the judge’s decision, the company also made it clear that it intends to appeal. It’s been a busy week for Apple’s legal team, as this ruling follows a separate decision Apple faced in a patent dispute in the UK courts, where the iPhone maker was ordered to pay more than USD 500 million in damages to Optis.
