Apple expands its in-app purchase tools to cover creator experiences, large content catalogs and more

Apple announced on Thursday a new API called the Advanced Commerce API to support more in-app purchase formats, such as subscriptions and content add-ons. The company added that it is not changing the commission structure to support these use cases.

“The App Store facilitates billions of transactions annually to help developers grow their businesses and provide a world-class customer experience. To further support developers’ evolving business models — such as exceptionally large content catalogs, creator experiences, and subscriptions with optional add-ons — we’re introducing the Advanced Commerce API,” the company said in an announcement.

In an accompanying support document, Apple expanded on the use cases and the eligibility of apps and developers to apply for this program across three broad categories. Apple said the first use case is apps that have a big library of one-time purchases with frequent updates, such as audiobooks or courses; the second use case is apps adding creator-led content where users can purchase access to that content as a one-time or renewable subscription; and the third use case is users buying add-ons within a subscription service, such as additional channels, sports, or regional content, sold as renewable purchase.

Last year, Apple asked creator platform Patreon to switch to the App Store billing system for creator content or risk being booted out. In response, the company said it will start slowly migrating to Apple’s payment system for its iOS app and will complete the process by November 2025. Apple’s decision to debut a new API could be to support use cases like Patreon’s better.

After the EU forced Apple to allow alternative payment processing and third-party app stores on the platform, the company has been trying to create more value for developers to stay within Apple’s ecosystem. The company started allowing retro game emulators across the world. Plus, it launched a way for developers to offer discounts to customers with lapsed subscriptions.