Amazon has announced that it has started exploring integration of the Mobile Associates API (MAA) into iOS apps. Amazon encourages developers to present their use cases for them to participate in a private beta program that will guarantee early access to MAA for iOS. Interested developers will be selected by Amazon based on their use case and their willingness to provide feedback.
The Amazon Mobile Associates API offers an additional ways for developers to monetize their apps. Usually developers have had three major monetization methods for their apps:
- selling them;
- using the "freemium" model to offer additional purchases or subscriptions from within the app;
- displaying ads.
In addition to this, Amazon MAA allows to offer physical and digital products distributed through Amazon and earn up to 6% advertising fees on purchases made through the Amazon Associate program.
Amazon MAA has been available since August 2013 on Android based devices, while there is still no way to use it on iOS devices. Apps that use the Amazon Mobile Associates API may be distributed through any Android store as long as they are available through the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Program.
In the past, Amazon has been known to force developers to kill apps that were using their data in an effort to have customers only buy products on Amazon through their website and mobile apps. As already noticed, this policy changed last year with the introduction of MAA for Android, but still leaves iOS developers out in the cold.
It is also known that Apple has been rejecting apps using outside payment schemes from their App Store. So, it remains to be seen how this will be worked out between Amazon and Apple.
Interested deveopers can submit their use case on Amazon website.
