Apple CEO Tim Cook compares competition to lure developers into a ‘street fight for market share’ in the smartphone business

Apple CEO Tim Cook testifies today at an antitrust hearing with the United States House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, where he was questioned about Apple’s App Store policies.

Cook received complaints from developers that the committee has spoken to. Apple was accused of making its “App Store” rules unavailable to developers, arbitrarily enforcing those rules, changing them at will, enforcing rules that benefit Apple, and discriminating between smaller and more app developers. big.

In response, Cook claimed that Apple treats all developers the same, with open and transparent rules. “We care deeply about privacy and quality. We analyze every application, but the rules apply uniformly to everyone.” Cook said that some developers are not favored over others and that Apple examines all applications, small or large.

Cook was asked about the reduced commission rates for apps like Amazon Prime, which Cook says are available to “anyone who qualifies.” The congressman who questioned Cook went on to ask whether Apple uses the data collected from the ‌App Store‌ to decide whether it would be profitable for Apple to develop a competitive application, a question Cook avoided.

Cook was then asked what was preventing Apple from potentially increasing its “App Store” commissions and fees, something Apple has never done. Cook said there is competition to attract developers just as there is competition to attract customers, comparing the battle for developers to a “street fight for market share.”

There is competition for developers just as there is competition for customers. And so the competition for developers can write their applications for Android, Windows, Xbox or PlayStation. We have fierce competition from the developer and the client side. Essentially, it’s so competitive that I would describe it as a street fight for market share in the smartphone business.

Cook also said that Apple does not retaliate or intimidate app developers who disagree with Apple’s “App Store” rules. “It is strongly against the culture of the company,” Cook said.

The antitrust hearing is ongoing and can be seen live on YouTube. The antitrust subcommittee is also questioning Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google / Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Most of the questions so far have been for Pichai and Zuckerberg, but we’ll share additional details on anything else notable Cook has to say.