All iPhone applications for 10 euros per month? This service wants to beat Apple at its own game in Europe

Do you know SetApp? This macOS subscription application service wants to launch an alternative to the App Store on iPhone.

The Setapp service is well known to macOS fans. It allows for 10 dollars per month to access a catalog of practical applications usually paying. It’s a bit like the Xbox Game Pass, but for Mac software. As long as you are a subscriber, you have access to the applications in the catalog at no additional cost.

With the forced opening of the App Store to competition in Europe, Setapp has new ambitions.

Towards a Setapp for iPhone from 2024

Setapp formalized its project on X (Twitter) without leaving room for doubt: “ Exciting news for iPhone users in Europe! Setapp, the ultimate app subscription service for macOS and iOS, plans to launch as an alternative app store! » can we read in a publication from August 15, 2023.

In 2024, Apple will indeed be forced to open its App Store to competition on iPhone and iPad. It is the new regulations (DMA) in the European Union that will allow Setapp to create an alternative application store. It will therefore be a European exclusivity, which should not be offered to users in other territories, in particular in the United States.

We expected to see other giants like Microsoft or Epic Games announce shops operating on the same principle as the App Store. The good surprise here is to see a service that offers an alternative economic model to what Apple offers.

Several developers have already indicated that they are partners of Setapp. This is the case of Ulysses, Taskheat, NotePlan or Soulver. To encourage developers to join the service, Setapp promises a fairly generous revenue share. Like Apple, Setapp will distribute 70% of the revenue generated by the subscription to the developer. But Setapp promises to add an additional 20% share of revenue if the user has subscribed to the service for the application in question.

We had the opportunity to meet Susan Prescott in April, vice president of developer relations at Apple shortly before WWDC. We then asked him the question of a subscription formula for applications, like what Apple Arcade offers for games, without getting an answer. Perhaps the firm will reconsider the question before the announced arrival of Setapp.

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