Apple raises App Store prices in the UK, South Africa and more countries

Tech giant Apple said on Friday that it will soon update its App Store prices in various countries including the United Kingdom and South Africa. The changes will take effect on February 13, 2023.

While prices of apps and in-app purchases will see an increase in the UK, South Africa, Colombia, Hungary, Norway, Egypt and Nigeria, they will be reduced in Uzbekistan as a result of the decrease in the country’s value-added tax rate (from 15% to 12%).

The company also announced that although there won’t be a change in prices in Ireland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Zimbabwe, it will adjust the proceeds because of the changes in value-added tax rates in these countries.

• Ireland: Reduction of value-added tax rate on electronic newspapers and periodicals from 9% to 0%
• Luxembourg: Reduction of value-added tax rate from 17% to 16%
• Singapore: Increase of goods and services tax rate from 7% to 8%
• Zimbabwe: Increase of value-added tax rate from 14.5% to 15%

The iPhone-maker regularly updates its App Store prices because of changes in taxes and foreign exchange rates. It raised its prices in several European and Asian markets in October, months after dropping them in the UK, South Africa and the countries that use Euro as their official currency.

‘’Periodically, we update prices on the App Store in certain regions based on changes in taxes and foreign exchange rates,’’ Apple said in its announcement post. ‘’This is done using publicly available exchange rate information from financial data providers to help ensure prices for apps and in‑app purchases stay equalized across all storefronts.’’

After the changes go into effect, the tech giant said it will update the Pricing and Availability section on My Apps. Developers will be able to adjust their prices through App Store Connect.

In early December, Apple introduced 700 new App Store price points allowing developers to charge users up to $10,000 for their apps.

And earlier this month, the company announced that iOS developers have generated over $320 billion since the App Store was launched in 2008.