Four years after a landmark court order to open its walled garden, Apple wants to lock a new gate and charge a 15% toll to pass through it. In a new filing with the U.S. District Court of Northern California, Apple has formally proposed taking commissions of up to 15% on purchases users make after clicking an external link inside an iOS app, according to TechCrunch. This isn't a price cut. It's a strategic declaration that Apple believes its platform's value warrants a slice of every transaction, no matter where it occurs.
The Math Behind the New Gate
Forced by the Supreme Court to stop stalling, Apple's proposal carves out a multi-tiered commission structure tied to its existing programs. The filing states a 15% fee for standard apps, 10% for developers in its Video Partner, News Partner, and Mini Apps Partner programs, and a 5% rate for developers enrolled in the Small Business Program. Subscription renewals would also be capped at 10%.
XOOMAR INTERPRETATION: The structure is a masterclass in framing. By anchoring the standard rate at 15%, Apple positions any deviation as a "discount" or a special benefit tied to good behavior (like joining a partner program). This makes a 0% fee the radical, unreasonable position, shifting the entire debate onto Apple's preferred turf: how much it should be paid, not whether it should be paid at all. The company's argument is consistent. It claims these fees are necessary to "recoup its investments in the tools, technology, and services" that comprise the App Store ecosystem.
A Fee Designed to Endure
This proposal is Apple's answer to a prolonged legal battle with Epic Games. The core issue was Apple's initial attempt to impose a new 27% commission on external purchases. A court found that move violated its order and halted it in April 2025. An appeals court later ruled Apple could receive compensation for its intellectual property, sending the question of an appropriate fee back to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
Apple is now offering 15% as that "appropriate" compensation. In its filing, it directly compares its proposed rates to Google Play, which charges 20% link-out rates for standard apps, 15% for apps in special programs, and 10% for subscription renewals. It even notes that Epic agreed to those Google rates.
XOOMAR INTERPRETATION: This comparison is a calculated legal and rhetorical maneuver. By aligning its fees with a dominant competitor, Apple argues its proposal is reasonable and market-based. The goal is clear: to persuade the court that any ruling deviating far from this structure would be punitive and out of step with industry norms, effectively preserving a fee-based model for all in-app economic activity in perpetuity. It's a strategy of normalization, as we have seen before in how other tech giants manage ecosystem control, such as Microsoft Merges Copilot Apps in AI Super App Launch.
The Developer's Next Move: A Hobson's Choice
For most developers, this proposal creates a lose-lose calculus. Leaving the App Store's payment system means handing Apple 15% of revenue anyway, while also incurring the costs and friction of building and maintaining an external payment system, dealing with customer support issues, and likely experiencing lower conversion rates from a disjointed user experience.
The only clear "winners" under this structure are the Small Business Program developers earning under $1 million annually, who would pay just 5%. For everyone else, the financial incentive to use external links is razor-thin at best. A developer paying the standard 30% App Store commission could move to an external link and save 15 percentage points, but they'd lose the seamless checkout and perceived security of Apple's native system. For a developer already paying 15% through Apple's reduced commissions for subscription services, moving outside offers zero financial benefit.
XOOMAR INTERPRETATION: This is the genius, or audacity, of the proposal. It is designed to make the external link option economically unattractive for the vast majority of developers. Apple is betting that inertia, fear of complexity, and the comfort of the known will keep developers inside the garden. The court-mandated "freedom" becomes a burdensome choice most will decline, leaving Apple's control fundamentally intact.
What Judges, Users, and Rivals Watch Next
The immediate next step is for Judge Gonzalez Rogers to review Apple's proposal alongside Epic Games' response before setting the final commission rate. The judge's dilemma is a technical one: does this structure constitute reasonable compensation for Apple's intellectual property, as the appeals court suggested it could collect?
For users, the practical outcome may be minimal. If developers largely shun the external link option due to its complexity and persistent fees, the iOS payment experience will remain unchanged. The "choice" will be theoretical.
For the broader industry, Apple's move is a bellwether. Google will watch closely. Other platforms facing regulatory scrutiny will see a potential blueprint: concede on the mechanism, but hold the line on the economics. The precedent reinforces that, even in a more open model, the platform owner can still claim a significant tithe.
This fight over a percentage point obscures the deeper war, as seen in other conflicts over platform control, like Mac Users Buy Driverless Docks Against Apple's $150 Tax. The battle is less about the commission itself and more about who owns the direct relationship with the customer, their data, their purchase history, their billing information. Apple's fee is a tax on that escaped value.
The likely endgame? The court may tinker with the percentages but will likely accept some fee as lawful. Developers will grumble but mostly stay put. Epic and other large players will use the external links, absorbing the cost as a necessary expense for greater control. And the decades-long war between platform sovereignty and developer independence will simply shift to a new, equally contentious front: data portability, anti-steering rules, and the very definition of what a "platform fee" should cover in a world where the storefront is no longer the only point of sale.
Impact Analysis
- Apple's attempt to impose fees on external transactions could set a precedent for how platform companies monetize third-party links across the tech industry.
- The proposed 15% fee directly impacts developers' revenue models and may influence whether they offer external purchase options, affecting consumer choice.
- This move represents a critical test of antitrust enforcement and the limits of app store regulation following the Epic Games legal battle.
Originally published on XOOMAR. For more news and analysis, visit XOOMAR.
