Apple will allow developers in every App Store category to sell automatically renewing subscriptions and will cut its commission from 30 percent to 15 percent after a customer remains subscribed for one year, a fundamental change to the economics of software on the iPhone and iPad.

The company also plans to introduce paid advertisements in App Store search results, accelerate application reviews and give developers more flexibility over subscription prices. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, disclosed the changes in interviews before the Worldwide Developers Conference begins Monday. The Loop’s interview with Schiller said the 85–15 split will apply to existing subscribers once they pass the one-year mark, not only to new applications.

Subscriptions expand beyond media services

Apple previously limited automatically renewing subscriptions largely to news, cloud, dating and streaming-media applications. Games, productivity tools and many other categories generally relied on a one-time purchase, advertising or individual in-app transactions. Opening subscriptions to all categories lets developers charge continually for software that receives continual service and updates.

The basic split remains 70 percent for the developer and 30 percent for Apple during a subscriber’s first year. Beginning in month 13, the developer will receive 85 percent and Apple 15 percent. If a customer cancels and later returns, the one-year clock generally resets, giving developers a direct financial reason to retain users.

Schiller told Daring Fireball that the lower continuing commission recognizes that developers perform most of the work needed to keep a long-term subscription valuable. The shift also gives Apple a recurring revenue stream and encourages applications to remain inside its payment system.

Developers will be able to offer territory-specific prices and preserve a lower rate for existing subscribers when raising prices for new ones. That flexibility supports “grandfathering,” which can reduce cancellations while allowing a business to adjust to higher costs.

The business model may reshape software design

Subscriptions can stabilize income for independent developers who now face pressure to sell inexpensive applications and then provide years of updates. Predictable revenue can fund support, cloud infrastructure and continued engineering. It may also make specialized professional software viable on mobile devices.

But the model creates a new burden for consumers. A phone filled with applications charging monthly or annually can produce “subscription fatigue,” and developers may move features that were once part of a purchase behind recurring payments. The market will test which kinds of software deliver enough continuing value to justify the charge.

Macworld’s account of the changes said all categories, including games, will become eligible. The publication emphasized that the lower commission rewards retention rather than merely shifting Apple’s fee immediately.

Apple’s policy also answers pressure from developers who argue that a uniform 30 percent share is too high once the store has processed a payment and acquired a customer. Google is preparing a competing 85–15 subscription split, increasing the contest between the two platforms for software businesses.

Search ads create a new route to discovery

The App Store now contains more than 1.5 million applications, making discovery a central problem. Apple will allow developers to bid for placement at the top of search results. Ads will be labeled and shown with a blue background, and the company says relevance will determine eligibility so developers cannot buy unrelated terms.

Apple says it will not create profiles from sensitive user data and that children under 13 will not receive the ads. The program will begin with a beta this summer before launching in the United States in the fall.

TIME’s explanation of the ad system said placement will be sold through an auction and restricted to applications already in the store. For small developers, search advertising offers a measurable way to reach users at the moment of intent. It also risks favoring companies able to outspend rivals, turning organic discovery into another paid market.

The shift marks a cultural change for an Apple storefront that has relied on editorial features, charts and algorithmic search. Paid placement may improve relevance for some queries, but Apple must maintain a visible distinction between advertising and ranking if users are to trust the results.

Review times fall from days to hours

Developers have long criticized unpredictable App Store reviews that can delay releases and bug fixes. Schiller said Apple has already improved the process: half of submitted applications are now reviewed within 24 hours and 90 percent within 48 hours.

Ars Technica’s report linked the faster reviews to internal changes under Schiller, who took responsibility for the store late last year. Shorter queues reduce the operational disadvantage mobile developers face compared with websites that can be updated instantly.

Apple will retain manual review and its rules on security, privacy, content and use of platform features. Speed therefore depends on better tools and staffing rather than abandoning control. That control remains part of the store’s appeal to users and a source of frustration for developers whose applications are rejected.

A 9to5Mac summary said subscription changes begin June 13, while search advertising and other discovery features will follow later. The timing lets Apple present a new economic framework just before it asks developers to invest in forthcoming operating-system features.

Apple is treating the store as an economy

The App Store has paid developers more than $40 billion since 2008, but its scale has created problems unlike those of a simple catalog. Successful applications require acquisition, retention, pricing, customer service and continuing investment. Apple’s changes address each element: ads acquire users, subscriptions monetize service, the 85 percent share rewards retention and faster review reduces release friction.

MacRumors’ detailed account noted that developers will be able to set subscription prices from a much larger range of tiers and vary them by market. That flexibility pushes the store closer to a platform for operating a business, not merely distributing a product.

The approach also deepens Apple’s gatekeeping power. It controls payment, discovery, review and the operating system on which the apps run. Developers gain better tools and potentially higher long-term revenue while remaining dependent on rules Apple can revise.

The company’s wager is that recurring relationships will produce better software and healthier businesses. Whether customers agree will depend on value: subscriptions must finance meaningful service rather than simply convert purchases into permanent bills. By changing both the commission and the path to visibility, Apple is inviting every developer to test that proposition.