Longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller reportedly stepped away from overseeing the App Store due to disagreements with new leadership's strategy to increase revenue from the platform. Schiller, who transitioned to an Apple Fellow role in 2020 after leading marketing, allegedly wanted no part in the push by current CEO John Ternus and services chief Eddy Cue to maximize profits from the App Store, according to a Bloomberg report cited by the New York Post.
Schiller believed that aggressively pursuing higher revenue from the App Store would exacerbate existing tensions with developers and government regulators. While the disagreement did not result in an internal conflict, Schiller reportedly did not endorse the new strategy.
This stance sheds light on Schiller's decision to relinquish oversight of the App Store, a business that generates an estimated $30 billion annually and has been a focal point for regulatory scrutiny and developer complaints. His concerns reportedly echoed private objections he raised during Apple's legal dispute with "Fortnite" creator Epic Games regarding commissions on outside purchases.
Commission Disputes and Legal Challenges
In 2023, Schiller opposed Apple's plan to impose a 27% commission on purchases made on developers' websites after users clicked through from their apps. Court records indicate Schiller expressed significant issues with the commission concept and stated he was "not on team commission/fee." Apple's Chief Financial Officer, Luca Maestri, and other finance executives favored the commission, but Schiller argued it could harm Apple's relationship with developers. Ultimately, CEO Tim Cook sided with the finance team.
This decision later led to Apple being held in civil contempt by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in April of the previous year. The judge noted that Cook had "chose poorly" by siding with the finance department over Schiller. Apple was ordered to cease collecting commissions on external link purchases and to cover Epic Games' legal fees related to the contempt proceedings. A federal appeals court upheld the contempt finding in December 2025, though it modified the penalty, allowing Apple to potentially charge developers fees tied to legitimate costs for facilitating outside purchases.
Shifting Stance on App Store Policies
The episode marked a notable shift for Schiller, who had spent years publicly defending Apple's strict App Store policies. In 2020, he argued the marketplace operated under "one set of rules for everybody" and justified Apple's commissions by highlighting the company's investments in distribution, developer tools, security, privacy, and payment systems.
However, internal communications disclosed during the Epic litigation suggest Schiller had questioned the size of Apple's revenue share much earlier. In a 2011 internal email, he floated the idea of reducing Apple's cut from a 70/30 split to 75/25 or even 80/20 if the App Store's annual profit exceeded $1 billion. Following his formal assumption of App Store leadership in 2015, Apple did begin to implement reduced commission rates for certain developers, including a reduction to 15% on subscription revenue after the first year and a 15% commission for qualifying small developers.
Despite these adjustments, Schiller remained a firm enforcer of App Store rules. Apple has not commented on the reports.