Apple agrees to App Store changes in Europe to resolve EU dispute

Apple has agreed to overhaul its App Store fee structure for European developers, scrapping the widely criticized per-install Core Technology Fee in favor of a simpler percentage-based model. The company updated its Developer Program License Agreement on August 18, 2026, with the new terms set to kick in on October 1, 2026. The move comes after extended negotiations with the European Commission and represents Apple’s most substantive concession yet under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the sweeping regulation that has been reshaping how the continent’s biggest tech platforms operate since 2024. What’s actually changing Apple is replacing the per-install Core Technology Fee with a 5% Core Technology Commission applied to revenue from digital goods and services sold outside the App Store. Developers now pay a cut of what they actually earn, rather than a fee tied to distribution volume. Two additional charges, the Initial Acquisition Fee and the Store Services Fee, are also being eliminated under the updated terms. The result is a single, consolidated commission framework for out-of-store transactions. For transactions that still run through the App Store itself, Apple’s existing commi...