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A Statement of Tim Cook for the House of Representatives claimed that "For the vast majority of apps on the App Store , developers keep 100% of the money they

A Statement of Tim Cook for the House of Representatives claimed that "For the vast majority of apps on the App Store , developers keep 100% of the money they make." [1] How can this be even remotely true if Apple takes a 30% commission for every sale in the App Store? [1] https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU05/20200729/110883/HHRG-116-JU05-Wstate-CookT-20200729.pdf https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU05/20200729/110883/HHRG...

lis 6y ago
Two options: 1) Free apps with advertisements. Paid apps are by far the minority. 2) I guess this statement is related to subscription models like spotify. If you acquire the user outside of the apple ecosystem and they subscribe on your own website and then download your free app from the app store, you get to keep 100% on the revenue that the user generates as well.
- andreasley 6y ago
  Ah, the ad thing makes sense. It's technically true but the meaning conveyed in the statement is quite different. As for the subscription model, I've thought about that but developers that aren't huge companies have a hard time NOT integrating in-app purchases for cloud services (see "Hey", which had to use social media to get their update approved [1]), so it couldn't be the "vast majority of apps". [1] https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-app-basecamp-rejection-response-controversy-antitrust-regulation https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-...
amscanne 6y ago
Perhaps he means that they keep 100% of their 70% ;)
crazygringo 6y ago
Apple doesn't take a cut of your advertising revenue, and most apps are ad-supported rather than paid. That's why it's true.
- t0ughcritic 6y ago
  No most apps aren’t ad supported mostly games are. The ad supported apps are not real business but side hustles or one time, one hit apps that die quickly.
  - crazygringo 6y ago
    Most apps by app title, not by usage. It's precisely the long tail of side hustles with ads that make up most apps.
aripickar 6y ago
Apple doesn’t take a cut from advertising, which funds the vast majority of apps.
- jtsiskin 6y ago
  That’s true, and makes a weird incentive for advertisements. Ads revenue is apple-tax free
  - djrogers 6y ago
    No, you just aren't seeing the 'tax' the same way. Google (and Facebook, and admob, etc) all take a cut of ad revenue, and it's even higher than 30% - in some cases much much higher. [1] https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/180195?hl=en https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/180195?hl=en
kevin_b_er 6y ago
Its wily political speak. The devs keep 100% of what they make. What do they make? 70% of the price on app store. They keep 100% of the 70% of the store price. Truthful statement, just one that is designed to mislead you.
- WA 6y ago
  This. Plus: most apps don’t make money. It’s easy to keep 100% of zero.
- tartrate 6y ago
  They also keep 100% of what they make after refunds have been processed and yet another cut is taken.
- lucisferre 6y ago
  The idea that they could make less than 100% of the money that they "make" under these terms reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Bill Gates "buys out" Homer's fake business Hyperglobalmeganet.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
mwest217 6y ago
He's referring to the fact that most commerce on the App Store is for physical goods and services (Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, food delivery, etc). Apple doesn't take a cut of those transactions.
- dgellow 6y ago
  They do if your service is subscription based.
- quickthrower2 6y ago
  Yeah, they also don't take a cut of the regular day job salary of an app developer who writes an app on the side, or his inheritance from his mother, or his niece's dog.
ip26 6y ago
A statement from the IRS - "For the vast majority of Americans, taxpayers keep 100% of their after-tax income"
- muzika 6y ago
  lol
balls187 6y ago
It's up to interpretation. Tim Cook is saying developers keep 100% of their cut of the sale. And it sounds like you interpret Cook's statement to mean developers keep 100% of the entire sale.
jasonlingx 6y ago
He’s probably saying these are free apps which Apple doesn’t take any money for, and the money the developers keep are from ads or fees from clients and so on.

lis 6y ago

Two options: 1) Free apps with advertisements. Paid apps are by far the minority. 2) I guess this statement is related to subscription models like spotify. If you acquire the user outside of the apple ecosystem and they subscribe on your own website and then download your free app from the app store, you get to keep 100% on the revenue that the user generates as well.

andreasley 6y ago
Ah, the ad thing makes sense. It's technically true but the meaning conveyed in the statement is quite different. As for the subscription model, I've thought about that but developers that aren't huge companies have a hard time NOT integrating in-app purchases for cloud services (see "Hey", which had to use social media to get their update approved [1]), so it couldn't be the "vast majority of apps". [1] https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-app-basecamp-rejection-response-controversy-antitrust-regulation https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/18/21296180/apple-hey-email-...

amscanne 6y ago

Perhaps he means that they keep 100% of their 70% ;)

crazygringo 6y ago

Apple doesn't take a cut of your advertising revenue, and most apps are ad-supported rather than paid. That's why it's true.

t0ughcritic 6y ago
No most apps aren’t ad supported mostly games are. The ad supported apps are not real business but side hustles or one time, one hit apps that die quickly.
- crazygringo 6y ago
  Most apps by app title, not by usage. It's precisely the long tail of side hustles with ads that make up most apps.

aripickar 6y ago

Apple doesn’t take a cut from advertising, which funds the vast majority of apps.

jtsiskin 6y ago
That’s true, and makes a weird incentive for advertisements. Ads revenue is apple-tax free
- djrogers 6y ago
  No, you just aren't seeing the 'tax' the same way. Google (and Facebook, and admob, etc) all take a cut of ad revenue, and it's even higher than 30% - in some cases much much higher. [1] https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/180195?hl=en https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/180195?hl=en

kevin_b_er 6y ago

Its wily political speak. The devs keep 100% of what they make. What do they make? 70% of the price on app store. They keep 100% of the 70% of the store price. Truthful statement, just one that is designed to mislead you.

WA 6y ago
This. Plus: most apps don’t make money. It’s easy to keep 100% of zero.
tartrate 6y ago
They also keep 100% of what they make after refunds have been processed and yet another cut is taken.
lucisferre 6y ago
The idea that they could make less than 100% of the money that they "make" under these terms reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Bill Gates "buys out" Homer's fake business Hyperglobalmeganet.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

mwest217 6y ago

He's referring to the fact that most commerce on the App Store is for physical goods and services (Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, food delivery, etc). Apple doesn't take a cut of those transactions.

dgellow 6y ago
They do if your service is subscription based.
quickthrower2 6y ago
Yeah, they also don't take a cut of the regular day job salary of an app developer who writes an app on the side, or his inheritance from his mother, or his niece's dog.

ip26 6y ago

A statement from the IRS - "For the vast majority of Americans, taxpayers keep 100% of their after-tax income"

muzika 6y ago
lol

balls187 6y ago

It's up to interpretation. Tim Cook is saying developers keep 100% of their cut of the sale. And it sounds like you interpret Cook's statement to mean developers keep 100% of the entire sale.

jasonlingx 6y ago

He’s probably saying these are free apps which Apple doesn’t take any money for, and the money the developers keep are from ads or fees from clients and so on.