Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Title: Spotify breaks free from Apple's App Store fees

Date: Fri, 02 May 2025 17:06:17 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/spotify-bre...

The knock-on effects continue for Apple after a blistering ruling from a
federal judge earlier this week that ordered the company to stop collecting
fees 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 streamlining payments
outside of AppleΓÇÖs walled garden, and Spotify is the latest to make these
changes.

With the latest update available in the App Store, version 9.0.40, Spotify
has added external links for subscription purchases, allowing it to advertise
lower prices and different tiers without giving nearly a third of its revenue
generated back to Apple from those subscription sales. These changes also lay
the groundwork for content-specific microtransactions, like audiobooks,
taking place outside the app. Spotify expressed its hope that these changes
will create ΓÇ£seamless buying opportunities that will directly benefit
creators.ΓÇ¥

In a blog post shared on the Spotify website, the company was incensed that
it took this long for Apple to comply with the same judgeΓÇÖs previous order
in the landmark Epic Games case dealing with the exact same issue. It reads
in part: ΓÇ£The fact that we havenΓÇÖt been able to deliver these basic
services, which were permitted by the judgeΓÇÖs order four years ago, is
absurd. The ruling made it clear that Apple deliberately abused its market
power to intentionally harm others and benefit only itself.ΓÇ¥

Epic Games, which kicked all this off with its original court case,
celebrated the legal victory by announcing a limited zero-commission policy
for games sold through the Epic Games Store. The company also announced EGS
Webshops to support out-of-app purchases launching next month.

While Apple has said it will comply with the judgeΓÇÖs ruling, the company
also made clear it intends to appeal. ItΓÇÖs been a busy week for AppleΓÇÖs
legal team, as this comes on the heels of a separate ruling Apple faced from
a patent dispute in UK courts, where the iPhone maker has been ordered to pay
over $500 million in damages to Optis.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/spotify-breaks-free-from-apples-app-store-fees-170617269.html?src=rss

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