Apple is once again challenging the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), saying new data shows the regulation has not achieved one of its main goals: making apps cheaper for consumers.
The company released a study commissioned from Analysis Group that reviewed more than 41 million App Store transactions across 21,000 apps in the EU between March and September 2024. The report found that after Apple reduced developer fees to comply with the DMA, about 90 percent of developers did not lower their app prices. Among those who did, the average reduction was only 2.5 percent, and in some cases, prices even increased.
Apple’s fee changes, which dropped commissions from 30 percent to as low as 10 percent for smaller developers, were introduced alongside the option for third-party app stores in Europe. EU regulators had argued that increased competition would drive down prices for users. However, Apple says the study shows that the savings were never passed on. Instead, 86 percent of the financial benefit went to developers outside the EU, and most chose to keep the extra margin.
Apple also pointed out that the results mirror its earlier Small Business Program, which reduced App Store commissions for smaller developers in 2020. Prices largely stayed the same then too. The company argues that developers often reinvest commission savings into product improvements instead of lowering costs for users.
Apple’s criticism of the DMA extends beyond pricing. It says that the law’s requirements have forced the company to delay several features in the EU due to privacy and security risks. iPhone Mirroring, AirPods Live Translation, and automatic Wi-Fi syncing have all been postponed or limited in the region, with Apple claiming that the new rules would require it to share sensitive user data with third parties.
The European Commission has not yet responded to Apple’s latest claims. The study’s release comes as the EU begins its scheduled review of the DMA’s first year of enforcement, suggesting Apple’s timing is strategic.
While the findings are unlikely to change EU policy immediately, they give Apple another data point to support its argument that the DMA benefits developers more than users. Apple’s position is clear: the law may have changed how iPhone apps are distributed, but it has not changed what consumers pay.
