Microsoft and Apple are in a dust up over Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud-storage app for iOS. The companies are reported to be duking it out over a 30 percent taste of the action from purchases of SkyDrive storage.
Microsoft’s existing iOS app doesn’t provide any options to increase storage within the app, but it does allow new users to sign up for 7GB of free space with the option to increase this via a subscription.
Apple is blocking an update to the SkyDrive iOS app, as Microsoft hasn’t agreed to let Apple have a 30% cut of the revenue it grabs from sign-ups through the SkyDrive app. The app hasn’t been updated since June, and the company hasn’t supplied iPhone 5 support either.
Reports say Microsoft has tried to compromise with Apple, including offering to remove all of the subscription options from the app update, but Apple has yet to approve the updates. The Verge theorizes that “Microsoft is likely refusing to hand over a 30 percent cut of SkyDrive storage subscriptions because the revenue is perpetual even if a user moves to a Windows Phone or Android device.”
The battle also appears to be affecting 3rd-party developers that use the LiveConnect SDK in their iOS apps to store content on SkyDrive. One developer revealed on Microsoft’s support forums that his iOS app was rejected because “the log in interface must be native and not a link or a web view.” Microsoft’s Shelly Guo replied in the thread with the comment that the company is aware of Apple’s rules and “is in active discussion with Apple on this issue.”
The Verge also says that Microsoft has confirmed that the latest SkyDrive iOS app update approval is being delayed by Apple, with a spokesperson saying, “Similar to the experiences of some other companies, we are experiencing a delay in approval of our updated SkyDrive for iOS. We are in contact with Apple regarding the matter and hope to come to a resolution.”
