Tim Cook Says App Store Would Become a 'Flea Market' if Third-Party Payment Systems Were Allowed

In a recent interview with the Toronto Star, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about a wide variety of topics, ranging from App Tracking Transparency to Apple's ongoing legal battle over App Store policies with Fortnite creator Epic Games.

epic iap feature 3
Notably, Cook said that Epic Games' desire for Apple to let developers offer their own payment systems in apps "would make the App Store a flea market":

At the heart of the Epic complaint is they'd like developers to each put in their own payment information. But that would make the App Store a flea market and you know the confidence level you have at the flea market.

The volume of people going into such a market would be dramatically lower, which would be bad for the user, because they would miss out on the innovation like we just heard with the four developers. And the developers would be left out because they wouldn't have a huge audience to sell to. So nobody wins in that environment.

Apple's App Store Review Guidelines require apps to use Apple's in-app purchase system, with direct payment systems forbidden.

Cook said he is confident that Apple should prevail in its lawsuit against Epic Games, so long as it is able to communicate the facts clearly. The U.S. bench trial is scheduled to begin May 3 in Northern California federal court.

Cook also revealed in the interview that Apple reviews 100,000 apps submitted for review every week and rejects about 40,000 of them. He said that by curating the App Store, users have "a safe and trusted place" to discover apps.

Timed with Cook's interview with the Toronto Star, Apple has issued a press release touting the success of the App Store in Canada. In the press release, spotted by the blog iPhone in Canada, Apple said the App Store now supports more than 243,000 jobs in Canada and added that developers across the country have generated more than $2 billion CAD in total earnings since the App Store launched in 2008.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

macintoshmac Avatar
56 months ago
Did macOS with its open app system become a flea market then, by Tim’s standards?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timborama Avatar
56 months ago
I love flea markets!
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kkspire Avatar
56 months ago

Yeah, agree with others that Apple's choice of term to describe a lower-quality App Store perpetuates racist and ethnocentrist ideologies. The fact that no one in marketing/legal caught this illustrates the ubiquity of implicit bias.

Bad form, Apple.
So now it’s racist to say you never know what you’re gonna get shopping at flea markets. Hahahaha. Jesus. Ironically, you characterized him comparing to a flea market as a lower standard. :)
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
56 months ago

At the heart of the Epic complaint is they'd like developers to each put in their own payment information. But that would make the App Store a flea market and you know the confidence level you have at the flea market.

The volume of people going into such a market would be dramatically lower, which would be bad for the user, because they would miss out on the innovation like we just heard with the four developers. And the developers would be left out because they wouldn't have a huge audience to sell to. So nobody wins in that environment.
:rolleyes:


Having a 3rd party payment would be an additional payment option, Tim. An option. You know what "option" means, Tim?

Having a 3rd party payment option wouldn't make the App Store a flea market... no more so than a brick and mortar store having payment options aside from cash.

Does a brick and mortar store offering cash, check, debit, and credit card payments make it a flea market? No.
Does it dramatically lower the volume of customers going to the store? No.
Would it be bad for the customer? No.

The only thing that would be bad is Apple losing out on their 15% or 30% cut of the transaction. That's what Apple is worried about.

Want to talk about "confidence level," Tim. Let's talk about the confidence an app store user had in your App Store which lead to the loss of 17.1 bitcoins ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/bitcoin-scam-app-approved-by-apple-robs-iphone-user-of-600-000.2290123/') or of the App Store allowing scammers to rake in millions through the fake apps ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/scam-ios-apps-still-raking-in-millions-in-revenue-on-app-store-updated.2283962/').
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
56 months ago
They're all going to defend their monopoly with whatever convoluted logic they can dream up
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
im2fast4u Avatar
56 months ago
Yes... I’m happy in the walled garden
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)