There has been a lot of back and forth in the past as to whether Microsoft Office would make its way onto iOS devices, although not too long ago, references to Office applications for iOS were spotted in support documents. Word has it that Office for iOS is set to be released sometime in 2013, but it seems that in the meantime, sources familiar with the matter have revealed to AllThingsD that Microsoft and Apple are currently disagreeing on the cut that Apple will be allowed to take from the sales made within Office for iOS, which sounds awfully similar to the disagreement they are having over Skydrive.
As it stands, Apple currently takes 30% of the money made from sales made within an app, while the developer takes 70%. For the most part it seems that many developers are fine with it, or at least are willing to accept it in order to have their apps approved. For some reason, Microsoft has decided that they would try to negotiate this 70/30 rule with Apple and according to the source, they are asking Apple to take a smaller cut although it was not specified by how much.
Unsurprisingly Apple has declined Microsoft’s request, although neither Apple nor Microsoft were willing to share any details of said discussion. Apple’s spokesperson, Tom Neumayr, did release a statement to AllThingsD, claiming that their App Store rules were designed to be fair and consistent for every developer, which sounds like Apple saying that even a giant like Microsoft is not an exception to the rule. We’re not sure if this will affect Microsoft’s decision to launch Office for iOS or delay it in any way, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled nonetheless.