Phil Schiller Steps Down as App Store Head Amid Strategy Shift

Why is longtime Apple executive Phil Schiller stepping down from his role as the head of the App Store?

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Schiller’s decision — he will remain involved in the company as an Apple Fellow working on unspecified projects — was driven in part by a desire to spend more time with his family and on philanthropy.

But apparently there was another factor in Schiller’s thinking: New CEO John Ternus and services chief Eddy Cue seek to improve App Store margins and bring in more recurring revenue.

Of course, Apple’s management of the App Store, as well as its share of App Store payments, has been an ongoing source of developer criticism and even been the subject of major lawsuits.

In Gurman’s telling, there wasn’t a big fight over Ternus and Cue’s strategy. But Schiller believed that trying to squeeze more profits from the business would only increase conflict with governments and developers, so he decided to step down and avoid getting involved.