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Google Matches Apple's Plan To Give Developers A Bigger Cut of The Revenue (recode.net)

Posted by BeauHD on from the slice-of-the-pie dept.

An anonymous reader writes from a report via Recode: Apple announced a new revenue sharing model on Wednesday that would give developers more money when users subscribe to a service via their apps. Instead of keeping 70 percent of all revenue generated from subscriptions, publishers will be able to keep 85 percent of revenue, once a subscriber has been paying for a year. Google has decided to match Apple's latest offering. It too will move from a 70/30 split to a 85/15 split for subscriptions. However, instead of requiring developers to hook a subscriber for 12 months before offering the better split, it will make it available right away. Sources have said Google has been testing the new model over a year ago with video services in a way to get Play subscriptions to work with its TV streaming offerings like the Chromecast. Google has yet to announce when their new pricing plan will roll out. In other Google and Apple related news, Google's AI 'TensorFlow' software is coming to iOS to allow the iPhone to be able to run more sophisticated apps.

8 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. Too little too late by Atrox666 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I already shuttered my shop and got rid of both my people. I just don't want a business partner like Google or Apple that dictates what I can sell in the marketplace to the point where I have no freedom of expression. They also are fond of reaching deep into the pockets of those that keep them in business.

    1. Re:Too little too late by dirk · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, with Apple you have a point, but less so with Google. With Apple you HAVE to go through the app store or you have no way of getting on their products. With Google though, if you don't like their app store terms, you can always sell the app as a sideload app. Sure, it's not as nice, but then again if you aren't going to let Google have their cut via the app store what do you expect. The key is though, you have an option to completely avoid Google's app store and still get your app on their products.

      --

      "Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
  2. Re:Anti-competitive agreements? by ledow · · Score: 2

    Probably more to do with they are each making so much profit from app stores for so little work, they can each follow the competitive pricing to the bottom without even bothering to do the sums.

  3. 85% of fuck all by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So Android devs now get to keep 85% of fuck all because hardly anyone using Andriod actually pays for their apps

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  4. Re:Anti-competitive agreements? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

    Not really. It strikes me more as a controlled leak on Google's part to try and derail Apple's intended narrative.

    Apple announced the change in advance of WWDC next week because, to paraphrase, "the keynote speech is just too full of stuff to cover this". More or less, they're trying to build good press in advance, bring more awareness to the event, whet people's appetite for more announcements, and get some positive momentum going into the event. Which is especially needed on their part right now, because the narrative playing out in the media after last quarter's numbers is that Apple has hit its peak, is all washed up, and have got nothing left up their sleeves.

    In contrast, the information coming out of Google is from unnamed sources within Google, rather than an official announcement. This wasn't something they were planning to announce two days ago, but it seems fair to think that they've been toying with the idea internally and were prepared to talk about it if Apple decided to do something similar at WWDC. With Apple announcing it early and the swell of good press both covering it and talking up WWDC next week, Google realized that their best move was to toss out a controlled leak that could help dampen Apple's good press a bit.

    We've seen this exact same thing play out hundreds of times over the years. Competitor announces X and launches it before you can have your version of X to market? Let it leak that your version of X is even better and coming out soon. The press coverage ends up being rather similar for both, regardless of the fact that the nature of the information is vastly different between the two. As far as the press is usually concerned, a promised product is as good as a launched one.

  5. Same option with Apple by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    With iOS, you can build any app and sell it through Cydia to any jailbroken iPhone.

    You will actually have a much larger potential market than a side loaded Android app would, because all jail-breakers use Cydia. Most Android owners will never find, much less load, your side loaded Android app.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  6. 85% is good, but it's 85% of zilch by micahraleigh · · Score: 2

    In the not too distance past the 5th most downloaded app on the iOS app store made around $500 after taxes.

    In other words, not enough for anyone to live on.

    Certainly not those used to a regular developer's salary.

  7. The world will certainly notice your protest. by Brannon · · Score: 2

    unless we get distracted by someth