Apple (AAPL) stock shows slight rebound in the pre-market after the tech giant extended the date for billing digital class holders making in-app purchases.
The shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) which closed down 2.97% on Monday to $113.85 are up by 0.70% in the pre-market today as the Cupertino-based company announced that it is extending the date to enforce its in-app purchase charges to specified users. As reported by CNBC, Apple announced that firm’s that runs digital classes through the former’s iPhone applications will not have to worry about the payment of the 30% App Store commission fee on in-app purchases through June 2021, an allowance that was slated to end this December.
The move by Apple to force app owners on the iPhone’s app store to make in-app purchases through the payment gateway integrated into the store with a charge of 30% has brought a resounding backlash. The move by Apple to extend the enforcement of its in-app purchases is one of the tech giant’s strategies to wade off more critics about the proposal which has also drawn interests from regulators.
“Although apps are required to offer any paid online group event experiences (one-to-few and one-to-many real-time experiences) through in-app purchase in accordance with App Store Review guideline 3.1.1, we temporarily deferred this requirement with an original deadline of December 2020,” Apple wrote on its developer blog. “To allow additional time for developing in-app purchase solutions, this deadline has been extended to June 30, 2021.”
The move will help businesses or educational outfits with reliance on Virtual meetings hosted on Apps that are supported by the App store to cope better with the pandemic that seems to have peaked in recent days. While the huge resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic makes physical meetings unadvisable, businesses with the need to meet online can continue to do so until at least a COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to the majority of US citizens.
Apple and Its In-App Purchases Stunt: Probable Implications
As noted earlier, the decision by Apple to charge a 30% mandatory fee for in-app purchases was not received with open hands as the decision has been questioned by the Congress Subcommittee on Antitrust.
“The pandemic is a tragedy, and it’s hurting Americans and many people from all around the world, and we would never take advantage of that,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO, in response to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler on the company’s policies around virtual classes. Cook added, “I believe the cases that you’re talking about are cases where something has moved to a digital service, which technically does need to go through our commission model.”
The extension move by Apple may stem from this response but it has also made commendable moves to lower the in-app purchase commission fees to 15% for developers earning less than $1 million through the apps hosted on the App Store.
One key implication of this move is a switch in business models that may limit reliance on Apple’s products or backend technological infrastructure. While it is unclear how this can be done, Apple’s embrace of concessions may prevent such extreme measures.
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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.
