"Apple Tax" High Wall Breached Again
Apple adjusts App Store policies in Japan, allowing third-party app stores and reducing commissions to 5%. Japan becomes the first country in Asia to break Apple's dual monopoly. The "Apple tax" has sparked controversy globally and has been reduced in the United States, the European Union, and other regions. The Chinese market is still affected by the "Apple tax" and cannot introduce third-party app stores
Author | Huang Yu
Editor | Wang Xiaojuan
Apple has been forced to dismantle a long-established "high wall" in Asia.
On December 18, Apple's official website released the latest developer update, indicating that in order to comply with Japan's "Act on Promotion of Competition in Specific Smartphone Software," Apple has officially adjusted its App Store policies in Japan.
This adjustment is a "historic" concession: Japanese developers will be allowed to launch alternative third-party app stores on iPhones and will only need to pay Apple a 5% commission. Additionally, the fees for apps published through the App Store that use external links and other third-party payment channels have been significantly reduced to 10%-21%, with an additional 5% fee if the Apple In-App Purchase (IAP) system is used.
This means that Japan has officially become the first country in Asia to break Apple's dual monopoly on "in-app purchases (IAP)" and "app distribution." Previously, Apple also allowed users to download software outside of the Apple App Store in the European Union.
For a long time, leveraging the closed nature of the iOS ecosystem and its market dominance, Apple has imposed high "Apple taxes" on developers worldwide.
The so-called "Apple tax" refers to the fees that Apple users must pay when they download apps or purchase digital goods or services within apps through the Apple App Store. Apple takes a cut of 10%-30% before transferring the remaining funds to developers.
In recent years, the high Apple tax has sparked considerable controversy in global markets, and Apple has made some concessions in certain markets.
According to Wall Street Watch, in addition to Japan, Apple has also implemented open tax reduction policies in the United States, the European Union, and other regions. For example, in the U.S., the fee for alternative payment methods has been reduced to zero, while in the EU, it has been lowered to 12% in the first year and 10% in subsequent years.
Among Apple's top four global revenue markets, only China is still experiencing Apple's dual monopoly in app payments and app distribution, subjecting users to the highest "Apple tax" rates in the world, while also being unable to introduce third-party app stores and payment processing systems.
In the Chinese market, Apple limits users to in-app payments, charging a commission of 30% for standard enterprises and 15% for small businesses.
This has clearly had a serious impact on the interests of Chinese developers and consumers. Due to the high "Apple tax" that developers must pay to Apple, it is evident that for some identical app products or in-app purchases, the prices for Apple users are higher than those for Android users.
Wang Qiongfeng, founding partner of Zhejiang Kending Law Firm and representative in the first anti-monopoly case against Apple in China (consumer Jin Xin vs. Apple), pointed out that in 2024, Apple collected approximately 50 billion yuan in "Apple tax" from China (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), and even attempted to unilaterally modify the "App Review Guidelines" and other "Apple laws" to include digital goods from Chinese mini-programs and e-commerce platforms in the tax scope, trying to impose at least an additional 10 billion yuan in taxes Against this backdrop, there has been an ongoing dispute over the "Apple tax" between Apple and Chinese software giants such as Tencent and ByteDance.
Last year, Apple pressured Tencent and ByteDance to "plug" payment loopholes in in-app mini-games, where developers attempted to guide users to external payment systems to evade Apple's commission.
After more than a year of negotiations and gamesmanship, on November 14 this year, Apple announced that mini-program developers could enjoy a 15% reduction in revenue sharing when selling eligible in-app purchase items (the standard commission is 30%), which may signal that Apple is "partially piloting and limited opening."
However, from a global perspective, the Apple tax that Chinese developers have to bear remains high.
Industry insiders point out that if Apple offers concessions, it will benefit upstream IP/research and development/distribution companies as well as download platform companies, and companies with a high proportion of iOS revenue from Apple are likely to become core beneficiaries.
As the walls of the "Apple tax" are dismantled in the European Union, drilled in the United States, and toppled in Japan, the wave of global regulation is already at the doorstep.
Japan's breaking of the "Apple tax" monopoly undoubtedly provides a new model for more regions, including China, to challenge the "Apple tax." For any market, this should not be a story of bystanders, but rather the beginning of change. In today's era of digital economic globalization and tightening antitrust regulation, eliminating unequal treatment across "digital borders" and allowing Chinese developers and consumers to enjoy a globally fair competitive environment is already a pressing issue.
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