Apple plans to increase the price to purchase apps, in-app items and subscriptions for iPhone and iPad owners in response to dropping international currency values and inflation. The move will impact people in a variety of countries including France, Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Japan, Pakistan and Vietnam. App Store users in the US appear to be unaffected.
In a note to app developers late Monday, Apple said the changes will go into effect automatically in October. As an example, the the price of an app that used to cost €0.99 will rise to €1.19 in most territories that use the euro currency (represented by the symbol “€”). In Vietnam, Apple said it is also changing prices in response to new tax rules there. “Your proceeds will be adjusted accordingly,” Apple told developers.
Apple said the changes won’t impact automatic subscription renewals, though the company added that developers can choose to preserve existing prices for existing customers or raise them to reflect the new amounts.
Apple’s price changes mark the latest sign of economic uncertainty amid rising inflation around the world, caused in part by soaring energy prices amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. Many countries have responded to increased prices by instituting higher interest rates, designed to slow borrowing and purchases. Prices theoretically will drop when buying slows.
Currencies around the world have fluctuated amid all this economic turmoil as well. The euro, for example, has dropped in relation to the US dollar, as have the value of other country’s currencies.
Apple occasionally adjusts App Store prices, though this time it’s happening both during a time of economic uncertainty and as the tech giant is releasing its iPhone 14, which starts at $799 and iPhone 14 Pro, which starts at $999. Apple’s largely kept prices for those products in line from the year prior. Apple is also releasing its Apple Watch Ultra this week, a new wearable designed for extreme sports that costs $799, about twice the cost of its standard Apple Watch Series 8.