Microsoft App Store Playbook Swipes at Apple, Google

In a not-so-subtle dig at Apple and Google, Microsoft today announced a series of “principles” for its Windows 10 App Store — including letting users choose their own payment system for in-app purchases — that it says should serve as a model for other app stores. From a report: The move comes as antitrust regulators in the U.S. and around the world are spotlighting how both Apple and Google manage their mobile platforms and as some developers charge them with running their app stores unfairly. In addition to offering developers the option to use an alternative payment mechanism for in-app purchases, Microsoft pledged that it will, among other things: allow competing app stores; hold its own apps to the same standards as those of other companies; allow app makers to decide what they do and don’t want to sell within their app; and allow any developer in its store “as long as it meets objective standards and requirements, including those for security, privacy, quality, content, and digital safety.”