Apple opens iOS to third-party app stores in Japan

Apple has announced changes it is making to the iOS App Store in Japan in order to comply with them Recent legislation In the country. It will allow third-party app stores and payment processing options, though new commission fees will be introduced for those transactions.

App Store apps will also now be allowed to use alternative payment options alongside Apple’s, or link to websites where users can make purchases. Apple will still charge up to a 21 percent per transaction fee for in-app purchases, with a 15 percent commission for digital goods purchased through a website linked to the app.

Apple will include warnings for users when using third-party stores or alternative payment options. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney pointed to those warnings and Apple’s commission fees when confirming this Fortnite will not yet return to iOS in Japan. Similar warnings and fees have been controversial in the United States, where… Apple recently lost an appeal In its ongoing antitrust dispute with Epic.