One of the most popular alternative app stores in the European Union, Setapp Mobile, has announced it will close next month.
The Ukraine-based developer said Apple’s “complex business conditions” have forced the store to close. The tech giant has been subject to multiple notices from the EU for non-compliance, with an increasingly tangled web of fees and charges creating further uncertainty.
In this ever-changing environment, developers are reluctant to launch or continue to support their apps on alternative app stores. It also makes operating these stores extremely difficult, as Apple appears to be opposed to the idea of alternative marketplaces and the EU’s ruling on this.
“Setapp Mobile was a bold, groundbreaking project that aimed to provide iOS users in the EU with access to alternative app marketplaces,” the company said in a statement to TechCrunch. “We are proud of what we have achieved with it… As a result of the still evolving commercial conditions, we have determined that it is not feasible to continue development or support within Setapp’s current business model.”
The app is expected to be shut down on February 16.
Apple originally charged developers a flat fee of €0.50 for each initial install over 1 million, but later changed this to an initial acquisition fee of 2% and a store service fee of 5% or 13% depending on the developer level. There is also a Core Technology Commission for developers who want to use alternative payment methods, bypassing Apple’s 15% or 30% fee for its own iOS payment service.
Towards the end of the process, developers may not save much by distributing through these stores, which have far fewer users and require additional development efforts to function effectively.
There are still some major alternative stores available, including the Epic Games Store and AltStore. But these tend to serve a niche audience. Given Apple’s continued resistance to compliance, it seems unlikely that an alternative general-use app store will flourish under current conditions.
Apple sucks up fines
Apple has shown little concern about being reprimanded, warned or fined by the EU for its dealings with alternative app stores. The company was fined €500 million by the bloc in April last year for failing to comply with the rules, and was forced to allow EU-based developers to promote and link to offers outside their apps.
It might consider these fines an acceptable cost if they make it difficult for alternative app stores to gain meaningful traction among iPhone users. Apple’s App Store will facilitate $1.3 trillion in app sales and billings by 2024, and the company sees its services segment as a key driver of future profitability.
While niche use cases like emulators and open-source apps can attract a small, tolerant audience, the prospects for alternative app stores that target the broader audience remain bleak.
It is not only the EU that is dissatisfied with the App Store
The EU is not the only organization critical of Apple’s App Store practices. Elon Musk’s XAI has sued Apple over Grok’s App Store rankings.
According to Musk, Apple has stifled Grok’s growth by keeping ChatGPT at the top of the App Store rankings, despite Grok reportedly seeing higher download numbers in the United States and other markets on certain days and weeks.
Musk has also sued both Apple and OpenAI for stifling Grok’s growth in favor of ChatGPT by integrating ChatGPT exclusively into Apple Intelligence.
Also read: Apple has ordered regulators to revoke the DMA as App Store compliance disputes continue.
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