December 19, 2022
As Apple prepares to allow rival app stores on iPhones in the EU, following a mandate from the Digital Markets Act (DMA), competitors are positioning themselves as the App Store’s alternative.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is set to require Apple and fellow tech giant Google to make room for third-party app stores on their respective iOS and Android devices, and rivals ranging from smaller startups to behemoths like Amazon and Microsoft are vying for space while also attempting to entice consumers and app developers away from Apple and Google.
Paddle, a payments processor for software companies, has created its own App Store competitor, which it hopes to launch in Europe once the DMA takes effect.
These competitors are plotting to entice unhappy developers to switch to their stores by offering lower commission fees and the possibility of exclusive deals with popular apps.
The CMO of industry research firm CCS Insight, Ben Wood, predicts a “avalanche of app stores” in the near future. “There is an emerging ‘coalition of the willing,’ and all of them have a vested interest in not having to pay what they perceive to be a tax to Apple,” Wood told Reuters.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
