Has Apple ‘Weaponized’ the App Store to Hurt Its Competition?

Former Apple App Store director Phil Shoemaker has a bone to pick with Apple over its subscription policy, and he’s not being quiet about it.

Speaking to the House of Representatives, Shoemaker claims Apple holds itself to a different standard than its competitors when it comes to allowing access to its lucrative App Store. This double standard is most egregious when it comes to gaming services like Xbox Game Pass and Google Stadia, both of which are banned from the iOS App Store.

In September, Microsoft turned heads with its new Xbox Game Pass that brings a Netflix-like experience to the mobile gaming industry. The game streaming service provides access to over 100 mobile titles on smartphones and tablets. Noticeably absent from the list of supported devices are the iPad and iPhone.

While Apple bans Microsoft’s gaming service, the Cupertino company openly promotes its own gaming service, Apple Arcade.

The controversy exploded earlier this year following the launch of Microsoft Xbox Pass. Apple refused to approve Microsoft’s gaming service while allowing its own Apple Arcade to operate without constraint.

Through a spokesperson, Apple explained that these services were not allowed because it could not possibly review every game title available in these game libraries. The spokesperson added that Apple enacted this review process to “protect customers and provide a fair and level playing field to developers.”

Being able to review each app title was only the tip of the iceberg. Apple also claimed each game in Microsoft’s or Google’s game library would need to enable in-app purchases through Apple’s payment system and allow the game to be ranked on the App Store charts. Likewise, each developer would also need to have a paid Apple Developer account.

But not everyone is buying that explanation. During an anti-trust hearing in front of the house of Representatives, Shoemaker provided a different take on this issue. Shoemaker claims Apple turns a blind eye to how its own Apple Arcade gaming platform violates the company’s App Store guidelines. Shoemaker went so far as to accuse Apple of using its App Store “as a weapon against competitors.”

Comment

“Apple’s gaming service, Apple Arcade, is a type of app that was ‘consistently disallowed from the store,’ when offered by third-party developers, but Apple allowed its own app in the store ‘even though it violates existing [App Store] guidelines.”

Apple Spokesperson

Shoemaker’s testimony was part of a broader investigation into anti-trust behavior by technology’s major players. The House report focused on the business practices of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. All four companies strongly criticized the findings of the report.