Microsoft thumbs its nose at Apple with new “app fairness” policy
The software giant has picked a side, and it’s with Epic and Spotify. …
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Microsoft this week adopted a whole slew of “fairness principles” for its Windows app store. The list of principles does look like a decent set of guidelines for both consumers and developers—but it also looks a whole lot like Microsoft is taking the metaphorical ball, throwing it at Apple’s face, and daring their iCompetitor to make the next move.
The principles, which Microsoft listed in a corporate blog post, essentially promise that Windows will keep on doing what it already does with regard to app distribution, interoperability, payment systems, and everything else.
The first item, for example, promises that developers may choose whether to distribute Windows programs through the Microsoft Store or through their own competing app storefronts. This has always been the case, and it’s why Steam, the Epic Games store, and every other Windows software distribution method exist. Windows also promises not to block an app from Windows “based on a developer’s choice of which payment system to use” for processing in-app purchases which, again, is why and how both Web-based and app-based digital software storefronts for Windows exist.
“Windows 10 is an open platform. Unlike some other popular digital platforms, developers are free to choose how they distribute their apps,” Microsoft said. “The Microsoft Store is one way… But there are other popular and competitive alternatives on Windows 10.”
The company specifically gave a shoutout to game distributors, adding, “Third-party app stores,
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