Apple has announced that prices for Apps and Services will be changing in a few locations, including South Africa.
They do this from time to time and it is fairly standard practise. This happened to us when VAT was added to digital purchases in South Africa. Prices will increase slightly to make up for the weak Rand. This may mean that you have to re-subscribe to anything that has recurring billing.
This will apply to all in-app purchases as well as new app purchases and subscriptions on both iOS and OS X. If there is a particularly important or expensive app you have been holding out for, this may be your time to buy it.
Apple Music subscription fees may also be affected by this, I will see if I can clarify that as the major selling point of Apple Music in South Africa was its price.
I have embedded the full developer release below.
Hi [Developer],
We sometimes need to update prices on the App Store whenever taxes or foreign exchange rates change. Within the next 36 hours, prices will increase in the following App Store territories:
- Mexico
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Turkey
Purchases on the South Korean App Store now include a value-added tax (VAT) of 10 percent. If you’re a developer based outside of South Korea, we’ll pay the VAT that we’ll be collecting for you. If you’re a developer based in South Korea, you’re still responsible for paying the VAT.
Because of the price increases, customers with auto-renewable subscriptions on the South African, South Korean, and Turkish App Store will need to resubscribe. However, although the prices are also changing for subscriptions on the Mexican App Store, we won’t interrupt those.
We’ll send an email to your subscribers in these territories shortly before their subscription renews to let them know that the price of their existing subscription will increase. The email also has a link that will let customers resubscribe, or in Mexico, turn their subscription off.
In addition, we’re also adding two new low-price tiers, Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B, for the Indian, Indonesian, Mexican, Russian, South African, and Turkish App Store. We’ll update prices for existing apps and In-App Purchases that already use the Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B price tiers on the Chinese App Store.
You’ll be able to review the new prices in the updated price-tier matrix in Rights and Pricing in My Apps within the next 36 hours.
Have any questions? Get in touch.
The App Store team
[9to5mac]
Tech Cape Town 