- Sources: Apple Newsroom, HN discussion
- Summary: Apple states the changes resolve its disagreements with the European Commission over business terms and alternative distribution, and that on 2026-10-01 all EU app distribution moves to one set of business terms with the per-install Core Technology Fee replaced by a 5 percent Core Technology Commission on digital transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store. Commission rates are set at 26 percent for App Store apps using Apple In-App Purchase, 20 percent for alternative payment processing, and 15 percent for link-outs. Apple states the rate will be 15 percent for what it calls the vast majority of developers, naming Small Business Program, Mini Apps Partner Program, and Video Partner Program members, whose reduced rates run 15 or 10 percent, and auto-renewing subscriptions after their first year. A chosen payment configuration must be held for 12 months. Apple In-App Purchase may now run alongside alternative payment options, which was not previously permitted in the EU, eligibility to run an alternative marketplace or distribute via the web widens to five new qualification routes, and Notarization still applies to every alternatively distributed app. Apple also sets child safety requirements in the same announcement: Kids category apps may not link out to websites for transactions, apps using alternative payment processing or link-outs must include a parental gate for users under 18, and no app may link out for transactions for users under 13.
- Why it matters: Every developer distributing in the EU has a dated switch to new terms on 2026-10-01, and per-install cost exposure becomes a percentage of transaction value instead.
- Follow-up: Track whether the European Commission accepts the revised terms and whether the 5 percent commission is challenged.
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