Even after a week of modifications to Apple Inc.’s App Store, the basic struggle for market power of the iPhone maker remains the decision of a federal judge and lawmakers in Brussels and Washington.
The movements so far have calmed some. Japan’s antitrust executive will drop its investigation into Apple under an agreement announced Wednesday afternoon. The company agreed to allow certain types of businesses to include links to their apps for the first time to allow users to register on websites. The change allows it to avoid its payment system and, in turn, Apple’s ability to capture a reduction in revenue. Another proposed deal announced last week to address a collective demand from smaller developers would allow apps to communicate with users outside the app about alternative payment methods for their services.