Apple has sent out an email to users of its iOS App Store stating that the company will increase retail prices in India, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa, due to foreign exchange rate fluctuation. The price change will come into effect in the next 24 hours.
While these countries are the losers, some countries are set to gain because of foreign exchange rate fluctuation – such as New Zealand and Israel.
Apple made around $4.4 Billion last quarter from its iTunes/software/services business. Out of this, it paid out around $2 Billion to developers.
Unlike Apple, Google hasn’t made any such announcement for the Google Play store. Multinational companies such as Apple and Google are expected to take care of their consumers and take care of hassles such as the increase/decrease in foreign currency rate other ways rather than burdening the consumer. But when it comes to maintaining profits, the consumer is always the lamb to the slaughter, sadly.
Here is the full text of the mail:
Within the next 24 hours, the following changes will be made to pricing on the App Store.
To account for changes in foreign exchange rates, App Store retail prices will be increased for the following currencies:
Australian Dollar
Indian Rupee
Indonesian Rupiah
Turkish Lira
South African Rand
Additionally, retail prices for Israeli New Shekels and some price tiers for the New Zealand Dollar will be decreased.
Price adjustments on the App Store are made periodically due to changes in foreign exchange rates. Within 24 hours, you will see the new Pricing Matrix in the Rights and Pricing section of Manage Your Apps on iTunes Connect.
Updates to iOS Paid Applications and Mac OS X Paid Applications contracts will be available on the iTunes Connect website. To view all current and outstanding contracts, see Contracts, Tax, and Banking on iTunes Connect.
Regards,
The App Store team
This isn’t an April Fool’s joke, sadly.
