How Apple’s push to subscriptions could save the App Store and cost you money
You may think you own that application you just downloaded, but chances are good you merely license it. If Apple has anything to say about it, that fact may soon have a much bigger impact on your wallet.
Recently, Business Insider reported on a “secret” meeting last year between Apple and some iOS app developers. Apple apparently encouraged the developers to switch from one-time, stand-alone purchases to a subscription-based model. The move is reportedly intended to give developers a more stable source of recurring revenue. It would also, of course, provide that recurring revenue to Apple as well, which takes a 30 percent cut on the first year of subscriptions, and 15 percent thereafter.
Services have become a big part of Apple’s revenue stream. In Apple’s last earnings call, it reported a record quarter for its services business, which includes the App Store and now of the company’s overall income—far more than sales of its Macintosh computers.
