Longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller reportedly stepped away from running the App Store partly because he wanted no involvement with a push by the tech giant\u2019s new leadership to squeeze more money from the lucrative platform.<\/p>\n
Schiller, 66, a veteran of both the Steve Jobs and Tim Cook eras<\/a>, remained in charge of the App Store and Apple\u2019s splashy product-launch events after stepping down as the company\u2019s marketing chief<\/a> and becoming an Apple Fellow in 2020.<\/p>\n But new Apple CEO John Ternus and services boss Eddy Cue are looking for ways to wring greater profits and more repeat revenue from the App Store, Bloomberg reported over the weekend.<\/a><\/p>\n Longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller reportedly stepped away from running the App Store partly because he wanted no involvement with efforts to squeeze more revenue from the platform. SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images<\/p>\n Schiller, by contrast, believed that pushing the App Store harder for profits would only inflame tensions with developers and governments, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n The disagreement never erupted into an internal clash, but Schiller reportedly shunned the strategy.<\/p>\n The Bloomberg report sheds new light on Schiller\u2019s decision to relinquish oversight of the App Store, a business estimated to generate more than $30 billion a year that has faced mounting pressure from regulators and developers.<\/p>\n Schiller\u2019s latest concerns echoed objections he privately raised over Apple\u2019s efforts to collect commissions on outside purchases during its long-running legal battle with \u201cFortnite\u201d maker Epic Games.<\/a><\/p>\n New Apple CEO John Ternus (pictured) and services chief Eddy Cue want to find ways to boost profits and recurring revenue from the App Store, according to Bloomberg. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n In 2023, he opposed Apple\u2019s plan to slap a 27% commission on purchases made on developers\u2019 websites after users followed links from their apps, according to court records.<\/a><\/p>\n Schiller said internally that he had \u201cmany issues with the commission concept\u201d and made clear he was \u201cnot on team commission\/fee,\u201d according to the records.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, and other finance executives favored charging the commission, while Schiller opposed it and later testified <\/a>that collecting fees from developers could damage Apple\u2019s relationship with them.<\/p>\n Former Apple CEO Tim Cook sided with finance executives over Schiller in a 2023 dispute over charging commissions on purchases made outside the App Store, according to court records. AP Photo\/Annie Mulligan<\/p>\n CEO Tim Cook ultimately sided with Maestri\u2019s camp. The decision later came back to haunt Apple.<\/p>\n US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in April of last year that Apple had willfully violated an earlier injunction stemming from the Epic case. In her blistering order, the judge singled out Schiller as having pushed Apple to comply with the injunction.<\/p>\n