Apple's Schiller takes over App Store that's estranged some developers

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple's Phil Schiller is taking over an App Store that, while still hugely popular, has turned away some developers who complain of its lengthy review process.

On Thursday, Apple placed global marketing chief Schiller in charge of the App Store, which powers the iPhone, Apple Macs, and other platforms, taking the responsibility from Eddy Cue. Cue also handles Apple Pay and other services, and the move could free him up to concentrate more on developing Apple TV deals. The changes were part of a senior-level reshuffling that named Jeff Williams COO.

Although Apple's mobile App Store continues to flourish — downloads across all platforms have reached 100 billion — some developers have left the App hub for Macs.

There has been increasing frustration among developers over Apple’s sometimes lengthy review times to get apps up, its restrictive policies and lack of upgrade pricing in the Mac app store.

A recent exit was from Bohemian Coding, the makers of the app Sketch, which claims the Mac App Store "is not in the customers' best interest right now." The company is opting instead to directly sell to customers.

"The customer experience on the Mac App Store hasn’t evolved like its iOS counterpart," read a statement from Sketch earlier this month.

Golden Hill Software pulled its Google data backup app CloudPull from the store last year, after Apple rejected a version of the app.

Owner John Brayton says he’s “hopeful that Apple's change means that the company is starting to take developers' concerns about the App Store seriously.”

Even with Schiller at the helm, though, he says “at this time, I have no interest in returning to the Mac App Store.”