Summary

• Apple's App Store guidelines are developer-unfriendly, prioritizing profits over the developer community.
• The App Store submission process can be challenging, with developers facing rejections for invalid reasons.
• Despite being forced to make some changes, Apple continues to abuse its power by collecting high commission fees and compromising user privacy.

Every WWDC, Apple dedicates a few minutes to highlighting how its products enable users to build powerful, handy apps. It then proceeds to showcase some of the best iPhone apps developers have recently created. And while there's no doubt that the latest Macs are some of the greatest computers for coding, the App Store guidelines are far from being developer-friendly. And with the recent App Store rule changes, Apple has explicitly (and shamelessly) shown how it has no respect for the developer community. Instead, it prioritizes maximizing its profits now over preserving its reputation in the long run.

An App Store that hurts those it's supposed to empower

The unfair guidelines go beyond the ridiculous fees and restrictions

Apple's philosophy emphasizes how learning to code is easy. It provides all the tools and resources needed to learn and practice for free. It has even developed a child-friendly app, Swift Playgrounds, which teaches coding fundamentals in a fun way. That's not to mention that the videos it shows during its keynotes tend to feature independent developers and smaller teams rather than large corporations. The overall message is that anyone can code, and average Joes like you and me can one day build a hit app if we're creative and hardworking enough. In some ways, this is all accurate, but the fine print makes the process, in general, more challenging.

The App Store is supposed to be this convenient marketplace that allows any no-name developer to reach millions of iPhone users globally. While this is partially true, Apple often rejects App Store submissions for invalid reasons. If you search the relevant online communities, you will come across horror stories narrated by developers who had to tweak their code repeatedly to appease the fruit-branded overlord. In many cases, the developers aren't necessarily breaking any App Store guidelines, but Apple's app review team can often be unforgiving.

So, even if you agree to pay the high commission fees and submit to the anticompetitive rules, you're still not guaranteed a smooth App Store experience. This especially hurts the same small developers Apple publicly celebrates, as they don't always have the resources to make their voices heard or have someone at Apple resolve it.

A company that wants to keep its cake and eat it too

As regulators force Apple to be fair, it continues to find loopholes and abuse its power

Putting the friction of making it to the App Store aside, Apple recently made a bold, public statement about how maximizing its profits will always be its number one priority. I get it; the company is a for-profit business, and that's how these corporations work. Nevertheless, some companies choose to maintain a good relationship with their clients, as long-term trust can be more valuable than the added profits. That's especially the case when the company needs said clients to survive.

When the U.S. court ruling forced Apple to allow developers to reference external payment methods, it complied. However, it will still collect high commission fees (up to 27% instead of 30%) for external purchases. Naturally, many developers will continue to rely on its payment system, as setting up their own externally and paying Apple's commission would cost them more.

Not only that, but developers would now have to track users. That's to find out whether they initiated the purchase on their website using the in-app link and to pay Apple accordingly. So, the company that advocates user privacy itself is now requiring developers to breach it. It could've dropped commission fees on external purchases as a gesture of goodwill (since Apple isn't processing any of it in the first place). Instead, it chose to continue harming developers with tight guidelines and high fees while compromising users' privacy in the process.

Apple will go out of its way to make sure it has the final say

It has built a tool to ensure that only EU users can access third-party app marketplaces

Most recently, the EU forced Apple to allow third-party marketplaces, in-app payment services, and web browser engines on iOS 17. Since the great iPhone maker had no choice but to submit, it built new APIs to comply with the regulations above. However, it also developed an advanced tool that relies on multiple factors to determine an iPhone user's actual country of residence. These include GPS data, Apple ID billing address, and more.

The Cupertino firm could've been less restrictive about these new APIs and enabled them worldwide. Instead, it chose to go the opposite route and build a tool that ensures no one outside the EU can access them. This only proves that it doesn't care about developers' needs and will do the bare minimum to comply with the law.

A symbiotic relationship, not a one-sided dependency

App developers only make Apple products more valuable

Let's consider a hypothetical scenario: in an alternate universe, developers collectively choose not to release any visionOS apps. Would the Apple Vision Pro succeed, then? Most certainly not. No one has ordered Apple's headset to enjoy the 3D Safari and iWork suite. The only unique, entertaining app Apple has built for its new spatial computing platform is an Encounter Dinosaurs app that will probably get boring after a few days of use.

When I browse Vision Pro discussions on online spaces, it's mostly users asking for cool third-party app recommendations. Apple has indeed provided exceptional hardware and software. But ultimately, the creative apps built by third parties attract the masses. No one would pay $3,499 to pet a dinosaur and attend 3D work meetings.

Considering all of the above, Apple still mistreats and disrespects those developing on its platforms, even though Apple needs them as much as they need it. Based on the company's recent actions, it appears to be embracing this toxic attitude towards developers instead of loosening up and adopting a more amicable approach. And no, it's not to protect users.