If you give people the option of buying something in-app or being sent out to the web to purchase, the user is going to choose the in-app almost every time. They’re not going to think about the 30% cut much, because it doesn’t matter to them directly. So it’s silly to think that developers will include both options. Unless they sell via the web store at a discount, which is just confusing and complicating for the user.
One thing that I don’t think is crystal clear yet: are they talking only about eBooks here, or are they talking about anything that gets sold within an app? Is it only for items that compete directly with an Apple business? Like music, books, etc? Where do they draw the line?
As I said before, an app like Dropbox technically gives you access to previously purchased content. I can put music in my Dropbox that I bought on Amazon. And I didn’t pay for my Dropbox subscription via an in-app purchase. Does that mean that Dropbox will be banned now, unless it offers the option to purchase a Dropbox subscription within the app?
I can’t imagine Apple would expect to take a cut from purchases of physical items made through Amazon’s Windowshop app. But maybe they do.
Seems like it’s time for Apple to solidify its intentions and get an update to the store guidelines as soon as possible. I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this one yet.
