14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is striving to reflect fluctuating currency exchange rates by changing the prices in some international App Stores, just as the company is rumored to adjust Macintosh hardware pricing as well.
U.K. customers are signaling that Apple has adjusted the exchange rate across their country’s App Store.
For those who are asking, the pricing hasn’t changed to the customers’ advantage (at least in the UK).
Instead, apps that cost USD$0.99 and used to go for £0.59 in the U.K. now cost £0.69.
The changes are reflected in both the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store.
For example, Mac App Store titles that previously sold for £11.99, such as Apple’s iWork productivity apps, now sell for £13.99 a piece.
The iOS versions of those same apps have seen a price surge from £5.99 to £6.99, reports AppleInsider.
Other territories, however, are welcoming the change.
Where a US$0.99 app previously sold for AU$1.19 down under, Aussies can now download the same app for AU$0.99.
Decreases in App Store pricing are also being reported in Japan and Switzerland.
Mexico and Norway are seeing price increases similar to those in the U.K.
These changes are the cause of Apple’s iTunes Connect blackout which we reported on earlier this week.
At the time, Apple advised developers selling software in the App Store that they should not attempt to modify their apps, or their apps’ pricing until everything settles down.
As the source points out, these adjustments were long overdue. Currency fluctuations recorded in the past year have resulted in highly uneven International pricing.
Apple has made no formal announcement regarding these changes.
As noted above, the company headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California is expected to introduce cheaper, upgraded Macintosh computers, also as a result of recent currency fluctuations.