Apple admitted for the first time that new regulations are forcing it to relax controls on app stores and are putting pressure on its service business exceeding 100 billion US dollars. This rare statement means that antitrust regulatory measures have begun to damage one of the company's most profitable business segments. The service business revenue and profit margin announced by Apple this month fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and the latest regulatory filing warns that if users complete transactions through a third-party payment system, Apple “may not be able to obtain commissions at all.” This disclosure is the clearest sign so far: years of court decisions and regulatory intervention in the US, Europe, and elsewhere are gradually eroding the commission revenue that supports Apple's high-profit service business. Recent research also confirms this trend. According to data from mobile data analysis company Sensor Tower, the consumption volume of users in the US market on the App Store fell 6% year on year in the second quarter, compared to a 9% increase in the same period last year; Appfigures estimates that Apple's commission revenue in the US market has shrunk 18% so far this year. Courts and regulators in many countries around the world forced Apple to relax controls on app payments and distribution, eroding up to 30% of Apple's commission revenue from in-app digital purchases and subscriptions.

Apple admitted for the first time that new regulations are forcing it to relax controls on app stores and are putting pressure on its service business exceeding 100 billion US dollars. This rare statement means that antitrust regulatory measures have begun to damage one of the company's most profitable business segments. The service business revenue and profit margin announced by Apple this month fell short of Wall Street's expectations, and the latest regulatory filing warns that if users complete transactions through a third-party payment system, Apple “may not be able to obtain commissions at all.” This disclosure is the clearest sign so far: years of court decisions and regulatory intervention in the US, Europe, and elsewhere are gradually eroding the commission revenue that supports Apple's high-profit service business. Recent research also confirms this trend. According to data from mobile data analysis company Sensor Tower, the consumption volume of users in the US market on the App Store fell 6% year on year in the second quarter, compared to a 9% increase in the same period last year; Appfigures estimates that Apple's commission revenue in the US market has shrunk 18% so far this year. Courts and regulators in many countries around the world forced Apple to relax controls on app payments and distribution, eroding up to 30% of Apple's commission revenue from in-app digital purchases and subscriptions.