Apple says it will increase App Store prices across Europe and in some Asian markets next month as currencies weaken against the strong US dollar. The price increases will effect both in-app purchases and regular apps on the App Store starting on October 5th.
All countries using the Euro, Sweden, South Korea, Chile, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Japan will be affected by the price hikes. All Euro markets, except Montenegro, will see the base €0.99 app pricing move to €1.19 next month, a 20 percent jump. In Japan the hikes are more than 30 percent, amid the yen dropping to a new 24-year low against the US dollar.
Apple hasn’t detailed exactly why prices are going up, but with the euro and yen struggling against a strong dollar it’s clear this is driven by currency fluctuations that have been influenced by inflation and rising energy costs. Reuters reports that Apple periodically adjusts its App Store pricing for currency fluctuations, and actually reduced the base €1.09 app price to €0.99 last year.
The App Store pricing changes come just weeks after Apple raised the prices of its new iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 models in many markets outside the US. The iPhone 14 now starts at £849 in the UK, whereas the iPhone 13 started at £779 last year. iPhone pricing has jumped from €909 to €1,019 in Ireland, and similar price jumps can be found across Europe.
Analysts put the price increases down to a similar story: the strong US dollar.