This feels like Apple is trying to rally the small-business developer corps against its much larger platform supporters, who are probably feeling a bit parasitic (i.e. legal sticks being swung at the high end) to Apple management, at the moment.
So .. by invigorating the cottage shops with this generous relaxation, while holding the >$1million brick and mortars on the same leash, Apple seems to be trying for more upheaval in their app zeitgeist.
Trouble is, I still see serious issues with discoverability and interaction through the App Store to be a major barrier for all players. This handout is nice, but there is still a huge issue with small devs having to depend on Apple to keep the $>million guys off from dominating eyeballs.
Perhaps they should add another category of App to the Store: "built by budget/small-business" ...