Court Exhibit·23 AUG 2015
When Your Platform Changes the Rules Mid-Game
When a platform controls your distribution, their algorithm changes are your revenue changes — full stop.
Source document — Email to Tim Cook: Please Fix the App Store Search · Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. · 4:20-cv-05640 (CAND), Doc. 287-14, filed 2021-01-25
Excerpt · In [redacted developer]'s own words
I do not want to take too much of your time, but can you please help to fix the app store search rankings? I have been a developer on the app store from the very beginning and working on my current main app since the launch of the original iPad. I have had a good amount of success on the store and it has allowed me to provide a living for me and my partner while he is in school. For the past year and a half it has been a lot harder to have success — specifically over the past 3 months the search rankings have changed so much my app's position has been all over the place. I used to have over 4,000 downloads a day on average; now recently it has been well under half that each day. I have noticed my app getting pushed down by other apps that receive less downloads per day, have a lower rating, or have not been updated in over a year. I work hard to make sure my app is optimized for the latest hardware, but apps that are not optimized for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus push me down in rankings. I also often get pushed down by apps that have nothing to do with the keyword search term. I feel like the app store now is not helping individual developers like it used to and is only allowing the big guys to play.
The daily letter · Free
This edition is for members — but the daily letter is free.
One real corporate email, and the lesson it teaches, in your inbox every weekday morning. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.
How this surfaced
- Source type
- Court Exhibit
- Case / record
- Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc.
- Citation
- 4:20-cv-05640 (CAND), Doc. 287-14, filed 2021-01-25
- Date authored
- August 23, 2015
- License
- Public domain
- Original
- View the primary source →
More from Tim Cook
[redacted] ·Apple ·8 JUN 2015
When You Favor One Product, Your Ecosystem Notices
Unequal investment across your own platform is a message — and your most engaged users will read it loud and clear.
Eddy Cue ·Apple ·10 JAN 2013
Turn a Competitor's Weakness Into Your Positioning Strategy
When a rival's business model forces them to behave in ways users dislike, that tension is your product opportunity.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·30 JUN 2020
How to Frame a Demand as a Favor to Customers
When you can't beat a gatekeeper on their terms, reframe the fight as being about their customers, not you.
Shanna Velez & Mike Marchak & Purnima Kochikar & Alyssa Ablao & Josh Kim & Randy Gelber ·Google ·15 DEC 2021
Discounts Are Cheaper Than Exceptions to Your Pricing Rule
When you can't grant a carveout, invent a program — same economics, but the rule stays intact.
Don ·Google ·14 MAR 2023
Bundle Deals Across Divisions to Save a Weak Position
When one business unit can't justify the check alone, stack the strategic value across the whole company — or lose the partner entirely.
Karen Aviram Beatty & Lawrence Koh ·Google ·11 DEC 2019
Bundling Deals Can Backfire When Your Counterparty Wants Simplicity
When you stack asks to justify a payment, the other side sees complexity — and offers you a simpler exit.