Apple has announced some pricing changes in a number of markets around the world. As local taxes and exchange rates change in key markets, Apple App Store users may find that the prices of their favorite apps or in-app purchases have shifted somewhat. Over the next few days, App Store prices will be decreasing in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and all territories that use the Euro as their primary currency. On the other side of the coin, Apple is increasing prices in the countries of Georgia and Tajikistan due to an increase in the value-added tax of 18% for those nations.
Developers have been notified of these changes and how they will affect their earnings from app sales. In some instances, the changes are legislative, such as with the recent changes in Italy to the Digital Services Tax. Developers will now receive a higher cut from the proceeds of their app sales in Italy.
These tax code changes come alongside a redesign of Apple’s online store. After the site was down for an hour on Tuesday, it reappeared with a new set of images and links to its main product lines, dedicated store pages, and other resources like accessories, support, and guides. In the past, the online store being down has usually preceded an announcement of a new device, but in this case, there doesn’t appear to be any new products.
The App Store has been around since 2008 and spawned an entire economy of both giant and independent developers churning out top-notch apps to bring further tools and enhancements to your already powerful iPhone. Apple’s relationship with its developers has been in the spotlight recently as its fight with Epic Games has been taken all over the world. The balance between Apple’s interest and that of the developers is a constantly developing conversation that Apple follows closely.
For all those developers out there, Apple has made it clear that the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps will be updated soon to reflect these recent changes.