Apple has told a U.S. judge what it wants to charge when iPhone apps send people outside the App Store to pay. In a Thursday filing in the Northern District of California — the long Epic Games case — Apple proposed a 15% commission on standard apps for digital purchases made through external links, TechCrunch and The Verge report. That is lower than the classic 30% in-app cut, but it is not zero, which is what Epic has been fighting for.
The filing adds discounts. Small-business developers would pay 5%. Developers in Apple’s Video, News, and Mini Apps partner programs would pay 10%. Subscription renewals would also drop to 10%. Apple had tried to stall this answer; the court made it file the numbers. Epic’s early reply, per The Verge, is that the ask is far outside the costs of running a link-out system.
If the court accepts anything close to 15%, “open linking” on iOS still has a toll booth. If the court slashes it, Spotify, Epic, and every reader app get a real alternative checkout. Developers should watch the order, not the blog posts. Until a judge signs it, 15 / 10 / 5 is a proposal, not the new App Store tax.
