The pound’s falling value following last June’s referendum to leave the European Union means users of Apple’s iPad and iPhone are set to pay a lot more for their mobile fun.
App developers contacted by the US-based tech giant have been told that it’s raising prices and that, as a result of the change, an app which previously costed 79p will now cost 99p.
The new prices numerically match those charged in the US version of the Appstore, meaning that a 99 cent app in the US will now cost 99p here in the UK.
Apple says prices are also going up in India and Turkey so that the cost of a $0.99 app will become 80 rupees in India, representing a 33% rise from the previous price, while in n Turkey it will change from 2.69 to 3.49 lira, an increase of 30%.
In a statement, Apple said: “Price tiers on the App Store are set internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business.
“These factors vary from region to region and over time.”
The price rise will also affect in-app purchases, although not subscription charges, and follows the firm’s recent hiking of prices for its computer range.
Since the launch of the iPhone, mobile apps have soared in popularity with users downloading a growing range of games, utilities and apps giving access to services such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
More than two million apps are available, either paid-for, free such as Euro Palace online casino or free but offering in-app purchases.
This week’s pricing announcement comes just days after Apple announced it had enjoyed “its busiest single day ever on New Year’s Day” this year and claimed developers had enjoyed “a year of unprecedented earnings”.
According to the firm, developers earned over $20 billion in 2016, up over 40 per cent from 2015.
In total developers have earned over $60 billion since the App Store launched in 2008.
Apple says Nintendo’s Super Mario Run made history by scoring more than 40 million downloads in the four days after its release. The game was the most downloaded app globally on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
It was also among last year’s top 10 most downloaded apps worldwide, with Pokémon Go taking the top spot.
Independent developers also enjoyed successes with apps such as Prisma, Reigns, Procreate, Lumino City, Sweat With Kayla and djay Pro while other players enjoyed playing progressive jackpots at Euro Palace.
“2016 was a record-shattering year for the App Store, generating $20 billion for developers, and 2017 is off to a great start with Jan. 1 as the single biggest day ever on the App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created — which together with our products — help to truly enrich people’s lives.”
