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Susan Prescott, the Vice President of Developer Relations at Apple, recently spoke to The Independent about the importance of the App Store and Apple’s commitment to supporting historically underrepresented groups. Prescott also teased some “new ways to connect with Apple” that will be announced at WWDC 2023.
Prescott highlighted the crucial role of the App Store in promoting small developers and underrepresented groups, including women. She noted that Apple has several projects in place to support these groups, including the App Store Foundations program, which provides developers with additional support to create better apps.
Prescott spoke to a group of female founders who participated in the program, stating that it helps increase diversity and inclusion in the App Store. She expressed confidence that it will soon become normal for girls to go into tech, thanks to Apple’s efforts in solving these problems.
Jo Goodall, the co-founder of Luna, was also present at the event and praised the App Store editorial team for promoting apps from small developers. She emphasized the significance of this exposure for small developers, noting that it is the kind of exposure they could never pay for.
However, Apple has faced criticism for enforcing strict rules on developers looking to publish their apps on the App Store. Prescott reinforced the existence of the Small Business Program, which allows developers to qualify for a commission rate of 15% instead of the standard 30% if they earn up to $1 million.
Prescott also teased that Apple will be announcing new features, capabilities, and ways to connect with the company at WWDC 2023, which is scheduled to take place in June.
However, rumors suggest that a new law in Europe may force Apple to allow developers to distribute iOS apps outside of the App Store. While this change may be announced with iOS 17 later this year, it may only apply to European countries.
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As Apple continues to face scrutiny for its App Store policies, its commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion among developers is a positive step forward. With new announcements set to come at WWDC 2023, it will be interesting to see how Apple plans to evolve its approach to the App Store and its developer community.