14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has not changed its App Store guidelines, according to an Apple spokesperson responding to inquiries on the rejection of Sony’s Reader application - it is merely reinforcing them.
A report by The New York Times informed earlier this week that Apple had told several applications developers, including Sony, that they could no longer sell content outside the App Store, or let customers access purchases made outside the venue.
Apple subsequently pulled Sony’s app, only it wasn’t on the grounds cited by the aforementioned newspaper. Not quite, actually.
According to Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller, Apple has made no changes to its App Store guidelines, but rather is simply enforcing an existing rule - apps that allow their users to purchase stuff must use Apple’s In App Purchase API (application programming interface).
“We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines,” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told John Paczkowski of All Things D’s Digital Daily blog.
“We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase,” Muller reportedly added.
To be clear, users will not be forced to buy content from Apple, but rather “through” Apple, who takes a 30 percent cut of all transactions carried out on iOS devices.
The rather speculative New York Times report suggested that the rejection of Sony’s reader app would create a precedent that would ultimately see apps like Amazon’s Kindle banned as well.
Softpedia picked up on the story, noting that “until Apple removes the Kindle app from its App Store, we can safely say that the company hasn’t taken any new decisions regarding these business models.”
Indeed, that will not be the case, going by the statement provided by Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller.