A Microsoft executive has made thinly-veiled criticism at Apple over the App Store. In a post on the company blog, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Rima Alaily outlined “10 app store principles to promote choice, fairness and innovation.”
Microsoft Aligns Itself With Coalition for App Fairness
Ms. Alaily said that Micorosoft “have raised questions and, at times, expressed concerns about app stores on other digital platforms,” and “recognize that we should practice what we preach.” She said that the principles laid out in her post “promote choice, ensure fairness and promote innovation on Windows 10” and build on the world of the Coalition for App Fairness. In perhaps the most obvious jibe at Apple, she wrote:
Unlike some other popular digital platforms, developers are free to choose how they distribute their apps. The Microsoft Store is one way.
iPhone apps, of course, have to be distributed through the App Store. The Microsoft principles also include not blocking an app from Windows “based on a developer’s choice of which payment system to use for processing purchases made in its app.” Again, this is clear criticism of Apple’s in-app purchase system.