On Friday, Internet users were shocked to learn that Apple had banned WordPress because it sold premium plans and domain names without giving the company 30%.
But yesterday afternoon we had another surprise as Apple did something very rare: Apologize to WordPress.
The following is Apple's statement:
We believe that the problem with WordPress has been resolved. Since the developer has removed the service payment options page from the application, it is now a free standalone application. We have informed the developer and apologize for any confusion we have caused.
You will notice that Apple reports that the developer - WordPress did the right thing and removed the "service payment options page from the application" and from what I know is technically true. But as far as I know, this did not happen today: it happened weeks or months ago.
So yesterday the WordPress application did not sell any of everything that exists in the domain "WordPress.com", unless you can do magic. Yes, an older version of the app contained a "Plans" tab that displayed some of the different hosting packages for premium customers:
But even with an older version of the app there was no way to buy anything. WordPress developer Matt Mullenwag told TheVerge that he had previously offered to remove κάθε αναφορές για τα πακέτα επί πληρωμή από την εφαρμογή (ακόμη και και μια mode which allowed a user to preview their own website on WordPress.com), but these proposals were rejected by Apple.
Why
Epic Games vs Apple and Google
Apple wanted to force in-app purchases to gain 30%.
Matt Mullenwag reported that Apple had previously forced him to add Apple in-app purchases (IAP). He said Apple locked the app updates, giving him a 30-day deadline to add the Apple IAP.
I am very grateful that folks at Apple re-reviewed @WordPressiOS and have let us know we do not need to implement in-app purchases to be able to continue to update the app. Bad news travels faster than good, usually, so please consider sharing that they reversed course.
- Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) August 23
