- The price increases will take effect from 5th October.
- Increases differ between regions, but in some cases are as high as 35 percent.
- No precise reason for the increase has been shared by Apple.
Apple has advised developers that prices in its App Store are set to increase in certain regions. These increases are set to take effect from 5th October, impacting countries in Asia and Eastern Europe for the most part, along with some South American nations.
“As early as October 5, 2022, prices of apps and in-app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions) on the App Store will increase in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, and all territories that use the euro currency,” explained Apple in the aforementioned note to developers.
At the time of writing, Apple is yet to disclose a precise reason for the increase, but it is believed that the decision is motivated by weaker local currencies against the US dollar, as TechCrunch points out.
Another possible reason for the pricing change could be the result of a report from Apptopia, which found that developers have raised their App Store prices by as much as 40 percent in some cases, with Apple’s stringent anti-tracking policies seen as the potential cause.
The same report saw the Google Play Store prices increase by an average of 9 percent, which is noticeably less than Apple’s app marketplace.
“Once these changes go into effect, the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps will be updated. You can change the price of your apps and in-app purchases (including auto-renewable subscriptions) at any time in App Store Connect. If you offer subscriptions, you can choose to preserve prices for existing subscribers,” it adds.
In remains to be seen how regulators in these countries will react to the increases, especially given the increased scrutiny that Apple has come under in regions like Japan and South Korea.
Either way, it looks like consumers will once again bear the brunt of the burden as developers and marketplaces vie for more pie.
