What's happened
Apple's Phil Schiller has stepped down from heading the App Store and will become an Apple Fellow, while day-to-day operations shift to Carson Oliver under Eddy Cue. Bloomberg and other outlets report a push by new CEO John Ternus and Cue to improve margins and recurring revenue, a move Schiller privately opposed.
What's behind the headline?
What this means for Apple’s strategy
- Apple is shifting the App Store under the services division, signaling a longer-term push for recurring revenue.
- The tension between developer relations and profitability is highlighted by Schiller’s past opposition to higher commissions.
- Expect more focus on external partnerships and potential changes to commission structures as the company tests new revenue models.
What readers should watch
- How Carson Oliver handles day-to-day App Store leadership.
- Whether regulators and developers respond to the new structure and profitability pressure.
- The trajectory of Apple’s broader leadership changes and their impact on product strategy.
How we got here
Schiller has led the App Store since 2015, navigating Epic Games litigation and Apple’s commissions policy. He remains with Apple in a Fellow role as the company reorganizes App Store oversight from marketing to services. This follows a broader set of leadership changes at Apple.
Our analysis
- Bloomberg reports on Schiller’s move and the App Store strategy shift. - TechCrunch coverage noting the transition of App Store oversight to the services division and Bloomberg’s portrayal of the leadership changes. - The New York Post reporting Schiller’s stance on commissions during Epic Games litigation and subsequent developments.
Go deeper
- What does this mean for developers paying commissions?
- Who will replace Schiller’s veto on App Store policy?
- How will the shift to the services division affect product launches?
More on these topics
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Eddy Cue - American businessman
Eduardo H. Cue (born October 23, 1964) is Apple's senior vice president of Services, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Cue oversees Apple's numerous content stores and products including the iTunes Store, the Apple Books Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Pay, Siri (until 2017), Maps, iAd, iCloud services, and Apple's productivity and creativity apps. Cue testified in the antitrust case against Apple for conspiring on eBook pricing.
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John Ternus - Apple senior vice president of hardware engineering
John Ternus (born 1975/1976) is an American engineer and business executive who has served as Apple Inc.'s senior vice president of hardware engineering since 2021, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. He is scheduled to succeed Cook as CEO on September 1, 2026.
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Phil Schiller - American businessman
Philip W. "Phil" Schiller (born June 8, 1960) is an Apple Fellow at Apple Inc. He is a prominent figure in Apple's keynotes and has been a member of the company's executive team since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997....
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App Marketplace
An app store is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the computer itself.
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Apple Inc. - Technology company
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.
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United States - Country in North America
The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.
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Bloomberg L.P. - Software company
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
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Tim Cook - Chief Executive Officer of Apple
Timothy Donald Cook is an American business executive, philanthropist and industrial engineer. Cook is the chief executive officer of Apple Inc., and previously served as the company's chief operating officer under its cofounder Steve Jobs.