App Store in crosshairs as Apple courts developers

Apple is set to court software savants at its annual developers conference beginning Monday while contending with criticism that the iPhone maker has made its App Store a walled garden.

The App Store is the lone shop for content for Apple devices, with the technology giant deciding which software creations to accept and taking a 30% cut of financial transactions.

But last month the US Supreme Court ruled that a 2011 consumer lawsuit accusing Apple of illegally monopolising the store and driving up prices may proceed.

"We only collect a commission from developers when a digital good or service is delivered through an app," Apple said in a page recently established in defense of the App Store.

Launched 11 years ago, Apple says the App Store has helped create millions of jobs and generated more than $120 billion for developers.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook will likely update that stunning figure during his keynote presentation kicking off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose.

Pushing privacy

As in years past, Apple will also use the gathering to showcase improvements to the operating systems powering its Mac computers...