iPhone maker Apple on Tuesday announced what it said was the biggest upgrade to app pricing on its App Store since the App Store was first launched 14 years ago. So-called upgrades add more levels, or brackets, at which a developer can price an app. It will also allow developers to select a primary country where their app is sold, and have their app prices automatically adjusted based on foreign exchange rates in other markets.
According to Apple, Developers will also be able to price their apps completely differently in different markets. For example, an app that costs May be priced at Rs 100 in India 2,000 in a separate market that Apple said its new price points for paid apps would enable from next year. The company further claimed that earlier it offered around 200 price points at which a developer could price his app, now these points have been increased to around 900 price points.
Changes to the denomination of how apps are priced will first affect those offering subscriptions, and will be reflected immediately. Apps that charge for one-time or in-app purchases will be able to use the new pricing model from ‘Spring 2023’.
To be sure, Apple’s move to add more price points for paid apps on the App Store doesn’t affect the commission it charges developers for paid apps and subscriptions on its store. The Cupertino firm charges up to 30% of the fee for a paid app as commission, depending on the developer’s total earnings from the App Store.
Apple has so far defended its stance in several markets, including the US and EU, saying the fee is needed to deliver a much better service through the App Store – which includes filtering malware. Notably, during Apple’s court battle in Northern California in 2019, Craig Federighi, Apple’s de facto software chief, threw its desktop operating system, macOS, under the bus — highlighting that users should be able to download third-party sources. Apple’s Mac line of computers suffered from malware problems that Apple did not find “acceptable”.
In India, Apple is under investigation with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on the same issue. A decision on the matter is expected in the coming months, but industry experts told Mint last month that the iPhone maker may not face the same verdict as Google. 2,337 crore fine from CCI – Apple’s iOS being ‘non-licensable software platform’.
However, Apple continues to face criticism in this regard, with the most recent notable opposing voices against its App Store policies being popular crypto platform Coinbase and Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter chief, Elon Musk.
Coinbase alleges an “oversight” on the part of Apple for blocking NFT transactions on the platform, stating that since Apple’s platform is not compatible with cryptocurrencies, Coinbase could not comply with the former’s policies, Even if they wanted to.
Meanwhile, Musk has accused Apple of acting predatory with its policies, claiming that the company even threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store. However, neither side gave further details about the allegation.
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