Epic, Spotify, Tile and many other developers formed an alliance to confront Apple

The developers who have criticized Apple the most in recent years – Epic Games, Spotify, Match Group (the father of Tinder), Tile, Blix, Basecamp and Deezer – have together formed a coalition called “Coalition for App Fairness “- App Fairness Alliance. The alliance was created to “create a level playing field for the app business and give people freedom of choice on their devices.”

While the majority of the coalition’s founding members have been or are fighting Apple over the App Store policy, the Application Fairness Alliance marks a more collaborative effort by developers to come together to protest. Apple regulations. The purpose is not just to create a centralized organization for other developers to join, especially those who may not have the influence or resources to stand up against Apple alone.

The Alliance says it welcomes “companies of any size, of any industry, committed to protecting consumer choice, fostering competition and creating a level playing field for all. global game and app developers. ”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said: “ We participate in the Application Fairness Alliance to protect the fundamental rights of creators to build apps and do business directly with their customers. ”

The App Fairness Alliance addresses three main controversial issues: Apple’s 30% commission on any in-store transaction, the lack of competitive options for distributing apps on iOS, and claims that Apple uses its control over iOS to favor its own apps.

Founding members of the Union

These are all disputes between Apple and the founders of the Union mentioned above.

Spotify, for example, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in the European Union over all of the above matters. Basecamp also clashed with Apple when it was denied approval of Hey email app updates unless it sold subscriptions through the Apple store.

Blix claims that Apple stole the idea of ​​their anonymous email login and applied it to its App Store (the developer had also lobbied other developers to join their fight).

Tile – a developer of an anti-forgetting device Tile – accused Apple to Congress that the company used its platform to overpower its device’s ability to be used on iOS in preparation for the launch of Apple’s own anti-forget device. And of course Epic, the company is in a fierce battle with Apple when it is removed from the App Store.

But even when it comes to getting more developers to join the Alliance, Apple is still the game leader. Developers in this Alliance, while opposing the App Store rules, are required to post apps there and pay Apple a fee. As long as there’s no legal intervention, it’s hard to see Apple accept any of this Alliance’s request – no matter how many developers are involved.

Refer to The Verge