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Phil Schiller steps down as App Store head as new leadership pursues higher margins

Confirmed1 source · Sep 6, 2026

Apple's longtime App Store chief is stepping down, citing concerns that efforts to improve margins would intensify conflicts with developers and governments.

Phil Schiller steps down as App Store head as new leadership pursues higher margins
Image via TechCrunch

What happened

Phil Schiller has stepped down from his position leading Apple's App Store, though he will remain at the company as an Apple Fellow on unspecified projects, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Schiller's departure was driven in part by personal reasons—a desire to spend more time with family and philanthropy—but also by concerns over future direction. New CEO John Ternus and services chief Eddy Cue seek to improve App Store margins and bring in more recurring revenue. 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.

Context

The App Store's revenue-sharing model and Apple's commission on payments have been persistent sources of tension with developers and have prompted major lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny. Schiller's exit signals a divergence in leadership priorities: the new executive team is pursuing improved financial performance of the App Store, while Schiller apparently prioritized avoiding deepening legal and political friction.