44 MACWORLD JANUARY 2022
iOSCENTRAL CHANGE (APPLE) = FORCE X ACCELERATIONsitting on one’s laurels in
the technology market is
rarely a path to success.
It’s just that sometimes
that change doesn’t
come from people inside
the company but from
external forces.
Lately, the company’s
made a number of
surprising backtracks
against previous
policies, and while they
might not always be
done out of the
goodness of its heart—
as much as a corporation can be said to
have one—it does prove that Apple can
learn and perhaps improve...even if it
sometimes has to be dragged kicking and
screaming in that direction.
LINKS IN A CHAIN
The App Store has been a source of a lot
of frustration, especially for developers,
but also to a lesser extent for consumers.
While the recent Apple versus Epic ruling
(fave.co/3y0v7Bm) mainly came up in
Cupertino’s favor—and the one provision
that Apple did lose is far from a done
deal—the company has already made at
least some concessions to App Store
operation after an investigation from the
Japan Fair Trade Commission.
As a result of that investigation, Apple
agreed that it would allow “reader apps”
(those that require subscriptions to view
content) to include a link to their website—
something that had previously been
against App Store rules. Moreover, that
change won’t be limited to Japan but will
roll out globally next year.
While it’s not the most magnanimous of
decisions (it’s “an in-app link,” singular, and
we haven’t yet seen what the guidelines
require) and it’s clear that the main impetus
was to avoid more scrutiny by regulators,
it’s still a positive change that will end up
benefiting developers and users alike. And
it’s proof that action by the government
can indeed force Apple, which is
financially larger than many countries (fave.Apple has been stubborn about its App Store policies, but a few
small changes have happened.