Apple is reportedly plotting changes to the App Store aimed at increasing its revenue and improving profit margins. The company, under CEO John Ternus and services head Eddy Cue, is exploring ways to squeeze more recurring and high-margin income out of the platform. Internal tensions over this shift are said to have played a role in recent leadership moves, including the departure of App Store overseer Phil Schiller.
What Apple Might Change
Sources say Apple is considering a suite of options to boost its App Store’s profitability. One potential move: ending its manual app review process. The idea is that this older, labor-intensive system may be obsolete given advancements in automation and AI, yet it’s also a high cost center. By reducing or eliminating that, Apple could cut operational expenses significantly.
Another lever could be increasing the annual developer membership fee, currently set at $99. Given how much small and independent developers already spend on tools and services like Codex or Claude, Apple may feel justified in raising rates.
Alongside that, Apple might begin charging larger developers subscription or usage-based fees tied to traffic or backend infrastructure demands. This would shift some of the cost burden from Apple to those generating the highest volume of downloads, usage, or server load.
Personnel Shifts and Pushback
Phil Schiller, long responsible for the App Store under his Apple Fellow title, reportedly resisted these proposed changes. His opposition to moves he believed would upset developers and regulators may have contributed to his exit from the company.
While Apple has yet to confirm any specific adjustments, it’s clear that leadership is serious about finding ways to sharpen the App Store’s financial profile. Ternus and Cue appear to be leading this strategy, with cost efficiencies and margin growth top of mind.
Broader Significance
These possible changes come at a moment when regulatory scrutiny, especially around revenue sharing, platform power, and developer fairness, remains intense globally. Apple already faces pressure over its App Store fees and ecosystem rules, and further shifts—especially if seeming to disadvantage smaller creators—could reignite controversy. Using automation in place of manual reviews might streamline operations but raises risks around oversight, security, and app quality.
Increasing developer fees or imposing traffic-based charges could generate substantial additional income for Apple, but also impact the economics for independent developers and startups. For them, App Store costs are already a critical factor in pricing, profitability, and viability.
This isn’t Apple’s first time seeking more revenue from its services business. App Store fees are a central pillar of that business, and enhancing margins here ties into broader company goals of growing Services revenue while managing rising costs elsewhere.
It remains to be seen what Apple ultimately implements—and when—it could be a mix of raised developer fees, usage-based pricing for infrastructure, automation of reviews, or all three. The changes could ripple across the developer community and affect how Apple is viewed by regulators. What to watch: updates from Apple’s developer program announcements, responses from small and large developers, and any regulatory filings. These shifts might not only alter Apple’s bottom line but also reshape the balance of power in its ecosystem.
