In the wake of a class act suit and widespread criticism regarding the rigidly of its costing structure, Apple has changed pricing options for its App Store to allow developers more flexibility.
In what Apple calls “the most comprehensive upgrade to pricing capabilities since the App Store first launched”, pricing can now start at 29c (USD), lower than the previous 49c floor for subscriptions, and a 99c limit for apps.
At the other end, pricing was previously set at a maximum of US$999.99 (A$1,500), but now developers can try their luck selling apps for US$10,000 (A$15,000). Developers will need to get permission from Apple to offer this.
In addition, developers can set different pricing across different countries and currencies.
There are 900 new price points in all, including rounded pricing, meaning an app can simply cost $1 rather than 99 cents.
Developers of subscription apps will also be able to manage currency and taxes across various countries by choosing their local storefront as the basis for automatically generating prices across the other 174 storefronts and 44 currencies.
“Today’s enhancements allow developers to keep their local currency constant in any storefront of their choice, even as foreign exchange and taxes fluctuate,” Apple explains.
“This means, for example, a Japanese game developer who gets most of their business from Japanese customers can set their price for the Japan storefront, and have their prices outside of the country update as foreign exchange and tax rates change.”
