A day late. For that I am sorry. If you sit up waiting for That Was The Week on a Friday afternoon (pacific time), you will have been disappointed. Only joking. That said, my tardiness was rewarded by the release of the news about the judge’s ruling in the Epic vs Apple case. So I took a few extra hours to include the best coverage.
Regular readers will know that I consider the app store to be an important gain for developers and software users worldwide. Last week I pointed out that most apps in the store gain global distribution for free and benefit from the efforts Apple makes to provide them with tools and support.
For the small number of apps that charge, Apple takes a 15% share of revenue (up to $1m a year earned) or 30% above that. As a developer myself I was only too happy to pay that in exchange for the increased market that Apple’s ecosystem made available to me.
And given the existence of the web and Android, the idea that Apple has monopoly power was always silly in my view.
The judge partly agreed and partly disagreed. Apple was deemed to not be a monopoly. But it was deemed to violate California’s anti-competitive practices rules and told to allow mobile gaming apps to build in alternate ways of selling to players.
I personally disagree with that element of the 180-page ruling. I suspect it could, over time, disincentivize Apple from putting so much effort into developers and damage the entire ecosystem. I am sure Apple will appeal that part of the decision. I hope they win.
Also this week, a lot more on the changes in Venture Capital. Specifically the growing number of private equity players leading late-stage venture deals. But the best of the week is from Mark Suster of UpFront Ventures – a broad-ranging essay on the changing venture landscape.
More in the Video