Apple responded to an Australian antitrust complaint alleging that it is now possible for iOS developers to bypass the App Store.
The company says developers can use the web to sell services like subscriptions. In a fun way, the company continues to suggest that progressive web apps are a viable alternative to iOS apps …
Apple had previously asked for an Australian lawsuit to be stopped by a technicality.
Epic Games’ dispute with Apple is not David’s battle against Goliath in which the game developer wants people to believe, said the Cupertino company: Instead, it is a two-Goliath battle.
Apple has asked an Australian court to rule against a trial in the country, arguing that Epic has agreed to terms that clearly state that any legal challenge must be made in California.
ZDNet spotted a new lawsuit, in which Apple mapped out a much more substantive defense.
Apple responded even more to the Australian consumer watchdog investigation into app markets, this time rejecting the characterization that the Apple App Store is the most dominant app market and saying that there are other options for iOS users, such as going to a website.
“Apple perceives and treats other application distributors, for platforms other than iOS, as significant competitors whose prices and policies restrict Apple’s ability to exercise power over developers,” said the iPhone maker in a presentation. [PDF] for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
“Apple is not in a position to ignore the environment in which its application market operates and does not accept the characterization of the Apple App Store Commission as ‘the most dominant application market by a large margin’.”
In it, Apple suggests that developers who want to make applications available to iPhone owners can do so by creating what are known as progressive web applications (PWAs).
Web browsers are used not only as a distribution portal, but also as platforms, hosting “progressive web applications” (PWAs) that eliminate the need to download a developer application through the App Store (or other means) .
PWAs are increasingly available to and through browsers and mobile devices, including iOS. PWAs are applications developed with common web technology, such as HTML 5, but have the look, feel, and functionality of a native application. They may even have an app icon that resides on the device’s home screen.
Web applications are becoming more and more popular. Companies like Amazon, Google, Starbucks, Pinterest, Uber and FT use web applications. Amazon, for example, has just launched its mobile games service Luna as a web application. Microsoft and Google are also launching game apps on iOS through web apps. The developer of the messaging app Telegram also recently stated that he is working on an advanced web app for iOS devices.
This is somewhat ironic, as the whole reason for creating the App Store was that native apps offer a much superior experience to web apps. At the iPhone launch in 2007, Steve Jobs initially predicted that developers would create web applications, but he quickly changed his mind – and the App Store was launched the following year.
As we explained in our antitrust guide, the issue at the heart of the dispute is the definition of the market for iOS applications.
Apple argues that it does not have a dominant position in this market, as it considers the relevant market as “smartphones” or “applications”. Since the company has a minority share of the smartphone market in most of the countries in which it operates, it believes that it cannot be considered as having a dominant position.
Competitive regulators tend to consider the relevant market to be “iOS apps”, and here Apple has a 100% monopoly on its sale and distribution. Extreme cases aside, there is no way for a developer to launch an iOS app on the market without selling it through the App Store.
Apple faces antitrust pressure worldwide over the App Store, including the U.S. federal government, several individual American states, the United Kingdom and several other European countries.
Rob Hampson’s photo at Unsplash
FTC: We use affiliate links for automobiles that generate revenue. Most.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more news from Apple: