Big news from Cupertino! 🚀 Apple’s just dropped a bombshell update to its App Store guidelines, and let me tell you, it’s shaking things up for developers and users. After what feels like forever, Apple’s giving the green light to external payment options on the US storefront. No more hoops to jump through—developers can now point users to payment methods outside the App Store. About time, right? 💰
This isn’t just Apple being generous, though. It’s following a California court order that told Apple to stop taking a cut from purchases made outside its walled garden. Thanks to 9to5Mac, we know the new guidelines are clear: buttons, links, you name it, if it leads to another way to pay, it’s allowed. And the cherry on top? Developers in the US won’t need Apple’s permission slips anymore.
Remember the whole Epic Games drama? That’s what kicked this off. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers called Apple out, but Apple wasn’t ready to let go, trying to sneak in a 27% fee and scare users with warning screens. Well, the court wasn’t having it and told Apple to cut it out—no more blocking developers from pushing external payments.
Epic’s Tim Sweeney’s already celebrating, announcing Fortnite‘s comeback to iOS next week. He even threw down the gauntlet, saying he’d drop all lawsuits if Apple ditches commissions worldwide. And Spotify? They’re not wasting any time, updating their app to let US users pay elsewhere. This is just the start, people. The App Store’s about to get a whole lot more interesting.
