What changes did Apple announce for fees and terms governing alternative app stores, web-distributed apps, and alternative payment processing in the European Union, why were these changes made under the Digital Markets Act, when will they take effect, how did the European Commiss

Apple’s EU overhaul replaces its per-install charge with a transaction-based model, broadens distribution and payment choices, and is intended to resolve its Digital Markets Act dispute with the European Commission. The revised terms take effect on October 1, 2026. 12

What changes

• A single set of EU business terms will apply to apps distributed through the App Store, alternative marketplaces, and web distribution. 2
• Apple will eliminate the Core Technology Fee—a per-install fee for developers at large scale—and replace it with a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store, including alternative marketplaces and direct web distribution. 126
• The prior Initial Acquisition Fee and Store Services Fee will also be eliminated. 2
• Developers may offer Apple In-App Purchase, an in-app alternative payment processor, and/or offers directing users to an external website, marketplace, or app; those choices must generally be maintained across EU storefronts for 12 months. 2
• Eligibility to operate an alternative marketplace or distribute directly from the web is widened: a company no longer needs to be legally established in the EU. 2
• Apple is adding child-safety restrictions around alternative payments, including parental-gate requirements in certain cases. 2

Why, and when

• Apple says the package followed close work with the Commission and resolves disagreements over business terms and alternative distribution under the DMA. 2
• The changes were announced August 18, 2026; developers can agree to them now, and they become operative October 1, 2026. 27

Responses

• The European Commission welcomed Apple’s revised business terms. The evidence provided does not include a fuller Commission explanation or a formal decision approving every detail.
• Epic Games called the changes “junk fees” that do not create the competition the DMA requires. Epic specifically characterized the applicable charges as 20% for alternative in-app payments, 15% for external purchase links, and 5% Core Technology Commission for alternative distribution. This is Epic’s position, not an independent confirmation of all rate definitions. 44

Comparison with prior EU terms and other markets

• Previous EU approach: the central change is from a complicated combination of per-install Core Technology Fee and other acquisition/store-service fees to a 5% commission on qualifying digital transactions outside Apple’s store. 126
• App Store and alternative payments in the EU: Apple is adjusting commissions for Apple In-App Purchase and alternative payment options, while allowing them to coexist in the same EU app. The supplied evidence does not establish a complete official EU rate schedule beyond the 5% charge for apps distributed outside the App Store. 27
• Japan: Apple permits alternative in-app processors and external web offers, but its published Japanese payment-options material indicates a 21% rate in at least some cases. Thus, the EU’s 5% outside-App-Store commission is materially lower, though it covers a different distribution channel and cannot be treated as a like-for-like overall rate comparison. 45
• Brazil: Apple likewise permits in-app alternative payments and external web offers. The provided evidence does not give Brazil’s commission rates, so a precise numerical comparison is unsupported. 3
• United States: Insufficient evidence was supplied here to state Apple’s current U.S. commission or linking rules precisely. More broadly, the EU arrangement is distinct because it expressly supports alternative app marketplaces and web distribution under DMA-specific terms; the cited Japan and Brazil materials concern payment choice, not alternative app-store distribution. 234