MacPaw Pulls Plug on Setapp Mobile iOS Store, Blames Apple's 'Still-Evolving and Complex Business Terms' for Alternative EU Marketplaces

Ukraine-based developer MacPaw is acceptable to adjacent Setapp Mobile, its alternate app store for iOS devices successful the European Union, adjacent month.


The work volition officially cease operating connected February 16, 2026. Setapp Mobile launched successful unfastened beta successful September 2024.

In a support page, MacPaw said Setapp Mobile is being closed due to the fact that of Apple's "still-evolving and analyzable concern presumption that don't acceptable Setapp's existent concern model," suggesting it was not profitable for the company.

For users successful the EU who accessed iOS apps done Setapp's subscription store, those apps volition beryllium removed from the level aft the shutdown date. Setapp advises users to backmost up immoderate important information earlier then, arsenic the apps volition nary longer beryllium disposable erstwhile the work ends. Setapp's abstracted subscription-based Mac app store volition proceed to run arsenic normal.

MacPaw is not unsocial successful trying its manus successful the EU marketplace for alternate app stores, which came successful the aftermath of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that mandates enactment for third-party app marketplaces connected iOS successful the EU. There are a fistful of alternate marketplaces, but the astir salient is the Epic Games Store.

These alternate app marketplaces, arsenic Apple calls them, are a comparatively caller frontier for app organisation connected iOS, but they look hefty challenges, specified arsenic navigating Apple's arguable Core Technology Fee and competing with its established ‌App Store‌ ecosystem.

Epic Games presently pays the Apple fees that EU developers incur erstwhile distributing their apps done the ‌Epic Games‌ Store. However, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has said it is "not financially viable" for ‌Epic Games‌ to wage Apple's fees successful the agelong term, but it plans to bash truthful portion it waits to spot if the European Union requires Apple to further tweak its rules for third-party marketplaces nether the DMA.

Sweeney has criticized Apple's Core Technology Fee and app organisation guidelines galore times, and has described the interest arsenic "ruinous for immoderate hopes of a competing store getting a foothold." In that regard, Setapp Mobile whitethorn good person been its archetypal large victim.
This article, "MacPaw Pulls Plug connected Setapp Mobile iOS Store, Blames Apple's 'Still-Evolving and Complex Business Terms' for Alternative EU Marketplaces" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

Discuss this article successful our forums