Overview
- A collective of 48 China-based iOS developers filed an antitrust complaint with the State Administration for Market Regulation on June 23, 2026, asking the agency to investigate Apple’s App Store pricing.
- The developers say Apple broke a promise to offer China the lowest commission rates and asked SAMR to penalise the company for abusing its market dominance and charging "unfair and excessively high" fees.
- Developers note Apple currently charges about 25% on paid apps and in-app purchases in China and cut subscription renewal commissions from 15% to 12% in March 2026.
- They point to lower effective fees in other markets — Brazil’s new 10–21% bands plus a 5% processing fee and EU arrangements that can yield rates near 5% — and say allowing third-party app stores would push commissions down.
- Neither Apple nor SAMR has commented and it is unclear if SAMR will open a formal probe, a development that follows nearly a decade of legal challenges in China and growing global regulatory actions against Apple.