Apple announces App Store changes in the EU

App Store Tier Changes and Capabilities

• Tier 1 gives distribution, basic safety and management, but no automatic updates, no ratings/reviews, and only exact-match search.
• Several developers say they would gladly choose Tier 1 for lower fees and to avoid reviews, accepting weaker App Store discovery.
• Others argue lack of reviews and search exposure is Apple’s way of punishing non‑paying or lower‑paying developers.

Push Notifications and Technical Lock-In

• Initial confusion over whether Tier 1 apps lose push notifications; consensus is that APNS is an OS service, not an App Store service, so tiers likely don’t affect it.
• Broader criticism that Apple’s single notification gateway and lack of alternatives hurt open-source and federated apps, since app authors must also run notification infrastructure.

Perceptions of Apple’s Motives and EU Enforcement

• Many see this as “malicious compliance” designed to make alternative options unattractive, similar to earlier US payment-link changes.
• Some are confident the EU will reject Apple’s structure; others note EU decision-making is opaque and politically constrained.
• There is strong support in the thread for the EU “having teeth” against large US tech companies, with some emotional anti‑Apple rhetoric.

Closed Ecosystem vs User Freedom

• One camp wants regulation because “it’s my device” and they should be able to run any software, without Apple’s gatekeeping.
• Another camp explicitly values the closed ecosystem and feels EU rules are degrading products they intentionally bought for tight control and integration.
• This leads into a philosophical argument: markets vs democratic limits on “antisocial” corporate behavior.

Developer Economics and Discovery

• Several developers claim most installs come from external channels (blogs, YouTube, word-of-mouth), not App Store search, so losing Apple-driven discovery is acceptable.
• Others counter that ratings/reviews and search ranking cost Apple real money (spam control, infra), so it’s reasonable to reserve them for higher-fee tiers.
• Apple’s search ads are criticized as already degrading search quality, undermining the “protecting quality” argument.

EU Regulatory Side Effects for Small Developers

• Independent devs in the EU complain they must publish a physical, serviceable address (often their home) and phone number to sell paid apps.
• Some avoid serving Germany or use free apps only to dodge “trader” obligations.
• There’s debate over whether PO boxes, virtual offices, or lawyer addresses are legally acceptable; answers differ by country and remain somewhat unclear.

Sideloading, DIY Apps, and Liability

• Users want the ability to compile and permanently deploy their own apps without periodic re-signing, especially for niche/hobby or medical tools.
• Others argue Apple will never relax this due to piracy and liability, particularly for DIY medical apps like open-source insulin loop systems.
• One view: these medical projects are life-saving but legally radioactive; no large vendor or regulator will cite them as a reason to open platforms.

Automatic Updates and Fragmentation Concerns

• Lack of automatic updates in Tier 1 is seen as a major UX and security flaw likely to cause version fragmentation and user churn.
• Proposed workaround: apps can block usage until updated and deep-link users into the store, but that adds friction, especially on mobile data.
• Some note many apps already enforce minimum versions on launch; others think automatic updates should be included in all tiers for safety.

Debate over Apple’s Broader Role and Innovation

• Some say Apple is “destroying its image,” turning from playful to petty and extractive; others insist it won’t matter because users want iPhones and the ecosystem.
• Apple Silicon is cited as a genuine innovation; critics respond that its lead relies heavily on ARM licensing, TSMC capacity, and targeted optimizations, and may narrow as competitors catch up.