Expanded App Store Price Points Now Available for All App Purchases

Apple today announced that its expanded range of App Store price points is now available to developers for use with all ‌App Store‌ purchase options, including paid apps and one-time in-app purchases.


When the updated pricing options were first introduced in December, they were limited to auto-renewable subscriptions. Apple at the time said the pricing changes would also expand to other app and in-app purchases starting in spring 2023.

Apple now offers more than 900 price points, with the 100 highest price points available by request only. The price points start at $.29 and go up to $9,999.99 in the United States, so developers can set both lower and higher prices and choose more granular pricing options.

Choose from 900 price points -- nearly 10 times the number of price points previously available for paid apps and one‑time in‑app purchases. These options also offer more flexibility, increasing incrementally across price ranges (for example, every $0.10 up to $10, every $0.50 between $10 and $50, etc.).

Apple is also adding globally equalized pricing that follows the most common pricing conventions in each country or region, along with worldwide options for a base price.

Starting on May 9, Apple also plans to update pricing for existing apps and one-time in-app purchases across all 175 global storefronts, all of which will be globally equalized to a selected base country or region using publicly available exchange rate information.

More information about the changes can be found on Apple's website.
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Apple Seemingly Restricting Generative AI Apps to 17+ or Older App Store Rating

Apple has refused to accept an update to email app BlueMail that adds generative AI features based on ChatGPT unless the developer gives it a 17+ age restriction, the Wall Street Journal reports.


The update to BlueMail uses OpenAI's latest ChatGPT chatbot API to help write emails using content from previous emails and calendar events. In communications sent to BlueMail developer Blix Inc., Apple's App Store review team expressed concerns that AI-powered language tools could generate inappropriate content for children, requesting that the app increases its age restriction to age 17 or older, or include content filtering. BlueMail's current age restriction is age four or older. The developer insists that the app already has content filtering and that placing a substantially higher age restriction could stop it from attracting new potential users.

Normally, 17 or older age restrictions on the ‌App Store‌ include apps with offensive language, sexual content, or references to drugs, leading to accusations of unfair treatment from Blix. Blix claims that other apps that promote ChatGPT-like capabilities do not have such stringent age restrictions. A spokesperson for Apple said that developers are able to dispute such decisions via the App Review Board appeal process and it is investigating Blix's complaint.

Microsoft's recently updated version of Bing that includes Chat GPT functionality has a 17 or older age restriction on Apple's ‌App Store‌, while there is no such rating for the version of the app on Google's Play Store, suggesting it is a requirement from Apple. This indicates that Apple is already cementing strict requirements around new AI apps amid concerns about its ability to moderate generated content.

Apple appears to be largely staying out of the race to develop generative AI tools. While the company recently held its annual AI summit for employees, the following sessions reportedly focused on aspects like healthcare, privacy, and computer vision, rather than its own generative AI technologies.
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App Store May Violate Japanese Antitrust Law

Apple's App Store policies may be violating Japanese antitrust law, according to a new report from the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that was shared by Nikkei. Japanese regulators do not believe there is enough "competitive pressure" on Apple and Google as the two companies have a duopoly in mobile operating systems and dominate the app market.


Japanese regulators want Apple and Google to allow users to choose third-party payment methods for apps and services, rather than forcing them to use the built-in purchase options in the ‌App Store‌ and Play Store. Google allows for third-party payment options for apps as of 2022, as does Apple in a very limited number of countries that have passed legislation calling for alternate payments.

The FTC suggested that app store commission rates between 15 and 30 percent could be an abuse of a dominant bargaining position. Apple in response said that a commission-based model was the best way to encourage development, while Google said that most developers are charged rates of 15 percent or less.

The two companies were also accused of manipulating search rankings to favor their own apps over competitors, which they denied.

The Japan FTC is calling for further regulation to suppress anti-competitive behavior, and said that it plans to work with the government council on digital competition on new laws. FTC head Ryota Inaba told Nikkei that the group will "respond strictly to any behavior found to violate antitrust law."

Today's report suggests that Japan could force Apple into accepting third-party payment options, something that it already does in South Korea after the country passed a law banning app store operators from forcing developers to use their billing systems. Apple has a similar allowance for dating apps in the Netherlands, allowing them to accept alternative payment methods after a dispute with the country's Authority for Consumers and Markets.

In Europe, Apple is gearing up to accommodate the Digital Markets Act, which will require it to allow apps to be downloaded on the iPhone using sideloading or alternate app stores, functionality expected as soon as iOS 17.
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App Store Prices Increasing in the UK and Other Countries on February 13

App Store prices are going up in the United Kingdom and several other countries starting on February 13, Apple announced today. The changes are being implemented due to shifts in taxes and foreign exchange rates.


App and in-app purchase prices in Colombia, Egypt, Hungary, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom will go up, and prices in Uzbekistan will drop because of a three percent reduction in the value-added tax (VAT) rate. Updated prices are listed on Apple's ‌App Store‌ price chart [PDF].

Prices in Ireland, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Zimbabwe are not changing, but proceeds will be adjusted slightly due to VAT changes.

• Ireland: Reduction of value-added tax rate on electronic newspapers and periodicals from 9% to 0%


• Luxembourg: Reduction of value-added tax rate from 17% to 16%


• Singapore: Increase of goods and services tax rate from 7% to 8%


• Zimbabwe: Increase of value-added tax rate from 14.5% to 15%

By the end of January, Apple says that proceeds are set to increase for local developers selling in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan.

Back in December, Apple announced plans to provide developers with an additional 700 price points for ‌App Store‌ apps, allowing for more variation in ‌App Store‌ pricing. Apps will be able to be priced as low as 29 cents or as high as $10,000, and these changes are set to be implemented for all apps in spring 2023.
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Spotify Pens Joint Letter Calling Apple 'Harmful' and 'Anti-Competitive,' Claims App Store Ruins Business

Spotify and eight companies and associations have written a letter to the EU Commission's executive vice president calling Apple a harmful, anti-competitive, and monopolistic company that must be regulated through "urgent action."


The letter, signed by the CEOs and heads of Basecamp, Deezer, Proton, Schibsted, Spotify, European Publishers Council (EPC), France Digitale, and News Media Europe, was sent to Margrethe Vestager of the EU. The letter urges the EU to take regulatory action and conclude an ongoing investigation triggered by Spotify against Apple's app distribution practices.

The group claims Apple's App Store has hindered their businesses and consistently makes it difficult for them to grow due to the platform's policies and its "capricious changes to terms and conditions."

For years, Apple has imposed unfair restrictions on our businesses. These restrictions hamper our development and harm European consumers. They include the tying of the App Store to Apple's proprietary payment system, with its excessive commissions for app developers; the creation of artificial obstacles that prevent our businesses from freely communicating with our customers; restrictions to developers' access to data of their own users; and capricious changes to terms and conditions. Apple benefits from a monopoly position over its mobile ecosystem and extracts exorbitant rents from app developers who have no choice but to remain on the App Store to reach European consumers.

"The time has come for urgent action from the EU to end Apple's abusive behaviors," the letter says, citing the newly passed Digital Markets Act (DMA) and calling for its swift enforcement. "The EU has the opportunity to take the lead, but it must act fast, as every day that passes is a loss for innovation and for the welfare of European consumers," it continues.

In April 2021, the EU published the Commission's Statement of Objections against Apple, outlining its findings after an investigation of unfair ‌App Store‌ practices. In the statement, the EU said Apple "abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its ‌App Store‌" and that it takes issue with the "mandatory use of Apple's own in-app purchase mechanism imposed on music streaming app developers to distribute their apps." Now, the group of companies claims these alleged wrongdoings are experienced by "countless other app providers" and not just music streaming apps.

We therefore call for a rapid decision in the competition case against Apple for its illegal, anti-competitive behavior involving music streaming services. Many of the anti-competitive behaviors described in the Commission's Statement of Objections against Apple are felt not only by music streaming services but by countless other app providers who wish to offer goods and services via the iOS App Store. That Statement of Objections is nearly two years old and the abuses and consumer harm will continue until a remedy is enforced. Beyond the specific App Store case, the EU authorities urgently need to look at Apple's abusive behavior in other areas as well, such as publishing, web software, communications, and marketplaces.

Apple has been repeatedly accused of unfair and anti-competitive business practices in its ‌App Store‌, with Spotify being one of the most vocal critics. In October, Spotify published a press release accusing Apple of damaging "Spotify's and other developers' abilities to provide a seamless user experience" and stated these restrictions "hurt both creators and consumers alike."

Although Spotify has been vocal about its disapproval of Apple's ‌App Store‌, the music streaming service has neglected widespread requests to add HomePod support to its app, despite many of its competitors doing so. As a result, some Spotify customers have switched to other platforms, such as Apple Music. In an independent blog post on its website this week, Spotify said, "Apple has been enabled by the lack of decisive action by regulators, who continue to move hesitantly, even in the face of a groundswell of support."
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