New prices for apps in the App Store (And how to avoid them)

Posted by nkbish0p at 20:32 2

Tweet You may have noticed today that Apple have increased the price of (almost) all of the Apps in the iOS App Store. Whilst 69p (the new bottom price point that replaces the old 59p one) may not seem too much to spend on an App (and there are many fantastic apps at this price point, some of which can be seen here), some boundaries have been considerably increased.

The new App Store pricing model (old price, new price, increase):

• 59p - 69p (14 per cent)
• £1.19 - £1.49 (20 per cent)
• £1.79 - £1.99 (10 per cent)
• £2.39 - £2.49 (4 per cent)
• £2.99 - £2.99 (no change)
• £3.49 - £3.99 (13 per cent)
• £3.99 - £4.99 (20 per cent)
• £4.99 - £5.49 (9 per cent)
• £5.49 - £5.99 (8 per cent)
• £5.99 - £6.99 (14 per cent)
• £6.99 - £7.99 (13 per cent)
• £7.49 - £8.99 (17 per cent)
• £8.99 - £10.49 (14 per cent)
• £9.49 - £10.99 (14 per cent)

Personally I think that developers should be able to charge as little as they like for their App and it irks me that Apple have set a 69p minimum as this may lead to decreased competition (something that is always bad for the consumer). For example, with no minimum price, Apps could gain an advantage by undercutting the price of a familiar app, leading to a likely price drop of familiar apps.

However, remember that if you don't want to pay for your apps, there are always alternatives.