Apple’s $100 million settlement brings a big change to the App Store – here’s what to know

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While Apple and Epic are still fighting it out in court, the iPhone maker is now in the process of settling a class-action lawsuit with developers that could have wide-ranging effects on apps on Apple’s App Store.

Both parties are urging a federal judge to approve the settlement. The settlement includes $100 million for the developers, but past that, it means some pretty big changes coming to the App Store.

The biggest change revolves around how developers actually receive payments outside of the App Store, effectively cutting out Apple’s percentage. This change would allow developers to let users know about alternative payment options. Developers wouldn’t be able to advertise this within the app, and instead have to communicate with customers outside of the app through email, text, etc.

That doesn’t mean that developers can offer these alternative payment methods within the app though, something Epic Games and the Coalition for App Fairness is fighting for.

In addition, Apple is promising to up the number of price points developers can use within apps on iOS. Currently, there are less than 100, but that should be expanding to “more than 500.” While not nearly as big in the grand scheme of things, this will still be great for developers looking to fine-tune pricing.

Ars Technica notes that these changes are currently being proposed, but it isn’t clear if Apple will move forward with the changes now, or wait until approval from a judge.

Epic Games and the Coalition have already spoken out about this latest news, saying, “Apple’s sham settlement offer is nothing more than a desperate attempt to avoid the judgment of courts, regulators, and legislators worldwide. This offer does nothing to address the structural, foundational problems facing all developers, large and small, undermining innovation and competition in the app ecosystem.”

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