What you need to know about Apple’s Advanced Commerce API

Apple's newly released Advanced Commerce API addresses challenges faced by apps with large catalogs of in-app purchases and those offering bundled subscriptions with add-ons, significantly improving management and monetization capabilities for developers who require these complex features. Announced at WWDC in June 2024, this API allows developers to host and manage their own SKU catalogs, specify product details dynamically at runtime, and bundle subscriptions, all while maintaining the App Store's commerce benefits like payment processing and customer support. However, it comes with limitations, such as not supporting Family Sharing or StoreKit Testing in Xcode, and requires apps to use StoreKit 2 and support iOS 15.0 or later. The API signals Apple's commitment to evolving the App Store's capabilities to better accommodate developers' complex business models while upholding the platform's commerce infrastructure, offering significant advantages for apps with intricate subscription and purchasing frameworks.