Apple has recently announced its significant upcoming price and tax changes for apps and in-app purchases which look to impact multiple countries.
In the opening week of October as early as the 5th, prices of apps and in-app purchases are set to increase on the App Store across Asia and Europe.
These new prices are set to increase for consumers in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, and all territories that use the Euro currency. In Vietnam the new price will also reflect new regulations for Apple to collect and remit applicable taxes.
These price hikes exclude auto-renewable subscriptions and once they go into effect the pricing section of ‘My Apps’ will be updated. Users will be able to change the price of their apps and in-app purchases at any time and are given the option to preserve prices for existing subscribers.
Apple has assured customers that all proceeds will be adjusted accordingly and will be based on the tax-exclusive price. Apple also shared its price tier charts which show the adjustments differ across each region with the lowest tier 1 price for a game or in-game purchase now set at €1.19 in Euro territories.
Reason for the increase
Apple is yet to give any word as to why these price hikes may be happening but the upcoming change may be in reaction to the exchange rate of certain currencies dropping against the dollar. Last year we saw something similar happen when Apple increased its in-app purchase price for those in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and again all regions using Euro. This now marks the second price raise in two years for European consumers.
In other news surrounding Apple a new report explored the mobile app advertising industry following the mass adoption of Apple’s app tracking transparency.
