Apple Raises Product and Developer Program Prices in Some Countries

[cambookpro]

That doesn't make one bit of sense. If a developer is talented they write the cost off in the business model. i.e. the app sales pay for the developer license and seeing as they are talented its easy to achieve.

Not everybody is in it for the money. It's exceedingly hard to make money on the App Store anyway, even if your app is very good. It requires a lot of luck, unless you're building an app based on an already established service.

I know people who have built apps which are much better than what I could do, yet barely manage to cover the costs of the developer license. Granted, maybe they haven't marketed it very well, but marketing campaigns these days cost hundreds or thousands of pounds, which is fairly difficult for a new developer to afford.

 

[ztao]

GBP/USD has dropped from 1.70 to 1.53, you can't just use the same exchange rate to calculate a previous price. And I am sure Luca(Apple's CFO) has told Tim that GBP is expected to drope even more this year, so you need to act early.

 

[thekeyring]

Developer program should be free. They already make money off of ads and app prices.

A big criticism of Tim Cook's Apple is that it is more obsessed with money making than anything else.

Even though, the year Apple's revenue falls the world and his mother will shout "See! This is because Steve Jobs isn't there."

 

[bbeagle]

I somehow agree that $100 is not a lot in our world (I know a few friends who wouldn't agree with us on this one). The problem is in two places :
1. Devs who simply want to leave their app on the app store without really generating any profit
2. The young geniuses who wish to develop on iOS, but who don't have the money and whose parents don't believe in them. This could have been the case with me (not the genius part though) - as my parents always thought I was crazy with my projects, which discouraged me a few times, yet some of them did see the light of day.

Yes, I understand #1 - where you need to pay $100/year continuously. For the 'pride' part to show others that you have apps in the store, $100/year is high, but if you have apps in the store to show prospective employers on your resume, $100 is insignificant.

For #2, to develop, you or your family need to have a Mac and an iPhone, so I don't understand why $100 would be unreasonable. If you're REALLY using the developer program to DEVELOP, I bet 99% of parents (with Macs and iPhones) would pay the fee. If you're just using it to get the latest beta software to have it before others, I can see $100 being steep.

But also for #2 - you DON'T NEED TO PAY $100 to start developing. So any genius kid can just start developing for free. They only need the $100 to put the app into the app store. Unless you're in a third world country, I don't see how you can't earn $100 by lawn-mowing neighbors yards, babysitting or something. It's not hard to get at all. It's only about 1 day earning minimum wage.

 

[Mackan]

U.S dollar is getting stronger against some currencies, for no valid reason. Electronics outside the U.S is then getting more expensive. Sigh.

 

[Boris-VTR]

So if dev in USA buys this 99$ subscription, he have to pay additional 19% tax? So you end up paying around 119$? Is that correct?

 

[Futuresgreen]

Have to say I'm disappointed by the increase in cost, especially when its hard to recoup back in app profits. Im a student and £19 increase is a lot.
Specifically, thats a weeks shopping to me.

I guess it's tough luck, I should have signed up on Tuesday when I was thinking about it wish they'd given us some notice at the very least.

 

[Keirasplace]

I somehow agree that $100 is not a lot in our world (I know a few friends who wouldn't agree with us on this one). The problem is in two places :
1. Devs who simply want to leave their app on the app store without really generating any profit
2. The young geniuses who wish to develop on iOS, but who don't have the money and whose parents don't believe in them. This could have been the case with me (not the genius part though) - as my parents always thought I was crazy with my projects, which discouraged me a few times, yet some of them did see the light of day.

Come on, young genius can't spare $100 dollars? How much did his computer cost... Was it donated? Does he devellop only for the Ipod because he can't afford to test on an Iphone? Did he learn coding from watching Scorpion... and dictate his code to someone else... (because you know, computers are so darn expensive and can't own one... ).

$100 is nothing at all. BTW, I come from a lower middle class family and bought my own computer ($6000 in today's money) in 1985 (at 18) with the money I took in from working during the summer and week (instead of buying a car...).

Everything computer related is so much cheaper these days it isn't even funny. If that kid can't spare $100, it is probably because he/she chose not too, not because it is expensive. A meal at McD costs $10 (if you don't go for the dollar meals) and I'm pretty that mythic guy can spare 10 a year to join the program.

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U.S dollar is getting stronger against some currencies, for no valid reason. Electronics outside the U.S is then getting more expensive. Sigh.

Goes up for a few reasons:
- US economy is the only western country with decent growth for the last 4 years
- Euro zone is stagnant
- In uncertain time people buy US dollars (or US assets, which needs US dollars to be bought)
- Resources are tanking and all countries that sell a lot of them have weakening currencies (their economies are under stress).

 

[Eric5h5]

So any genius kid can just start developing for free. They only need the $100 to put the app into the app store.

Wrong; you need $100 to put the app on the device at all. And you do need to put the app on the device if you expect to do any reasonable testing.

--Eric

 

[WestonHarvey1]

While I partly agree with this, you can bet that a lot of people get into developing for the sake of putting some rubbish into the App Store hoping to make a quick buck. Without this rather steep entry level pricing we might have more trash in the App Store than we do now.

Hard to imagine the difference between 1 million garbage apps and 10 million. I don't think it would make a difference. Any reasonable chance at discoverability was lost about 950,000 apps ago.

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I know people who have built apps which are much better than what I could do, yet barely manage to cover the costs of the developer license.

I would consider covering the costs of the license to be a huge success now, and an almost unattainable goal. That's how bad things have become for the independent or hobbyist developer.

 

[DaveMcM76]

Glad I renewed my membership for the old £60 price last week with Christmas money rather than waiting for my next pay day when it would have been £79

Can we expect non US AppStore prices to follow suit in the near future?

 

[nepalisherpa]

While I partly agree with this, you can bet that a lot of people get into developing for the sake of putting some rubbish into the App Store hoping to make a quick buck. Without this rather steep entry level pricing we might have more trash in the App Store than we do now.

That's what the QC department is for. They already check all apps now.

Xcode is free.

Deploying is not!

This isn't about the money. This is about having a separation between developers who are not willing to pay anything (that's my home account), and developers who are serious enough to pay cash for a developer account (that's my company's account).

For regular folks like you and me, to develop for Apple devices, you already need to own Apple devices (to develop and to test). Then, you have to pay to deploy your program. Then, if your program makes money, Apple takes 30%. Do you see how they leech money in every step? At least make the deployment free.

 

[Nordichund]

The US dollar is going to continue to rise against most major currencies for some time to come, unless something drastic happens. In this world as we know, that can happen anytime. Currently, we are living in interesting times

Although there will always be loyal Apple supporters with the money to buy Apple products, I think Apple must be careful they don't price themselves out of the mainstream Apple fans' market.

This morning I was able to buy an Airport Extreme at the old price here in Oslo, only because the shop had not updated the price on its website. I would never have paid the added 80 or so extra dollars that was on the new price tag in the shop. Looks like now is a good time to invest in US dollars

 

[Keirasplace]

That's what the QC department is for. They already check all apps now.



Deploying is not!



For regular folks like you and me, to develop for Apple devices, you already need to own Apple devices (to develop and to test). Then, you have to pay to deploy your program. Then, if your program makes money, Apple takes 30%. Do you see how they leech money in every step? At least make the deployment free.

your option is to go to Android and make no money at all... You'll save the $100 dollars though.... ;-). If $100 is too much, I'm guessing your one step away from packing it in and working for a big firm for real money anyway ;-).

 

[Boris-VTR]

The thing that most people don't get it, is that Apple products comes in EU with already higher price than USA (for instance, that low cost iMac with 1.4 i5 is 1000$ in USA and around 1180 euro (that is hoping 1400$) in EU). And then everything else is also i little bit pricier. And it gets old after some time. Price is getting up and quality is getting down (iPad air 2 PCB board touching LCD and bending iPhone).

Not really sure about US, but in EU apple is really not that big a deal and not really important. If you have money and like to be scamed for money, than you get apple. We don't throw all our money just to buy apple products. Aside from web developers and designers, not much people crave for apple. It is niche product. And huge price is not likely to change that. Especially because you get better products for less.

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your option is to go to Android and make no money at all... You'll save the $100 dollars though.... ;-). If $100 is too much, I'm guessing your one step away from packing it in and working for a big firm for real money anyway ;-).

Same can be said for iOS app development.

 

[Keirasplace]

The thing that most people don't get it, is that Apple products comes in EU with already higher price than USA (for instance, that low cost iMac with 1.4 i5 is 1000$ in USA and around 1180 euro (that is hoping 1400$) in EU). And then everything else is also i little bit pricier. And it gets old after some time. Price is getting up and quality is getting down (iPad air 2 PCB board touching LCD and bending iPhone).

Not really sure about US, but in EU apple is really not that big a deal and not really important. If you have money and like to be scamed for money, than you get apple. We don't throw all our money just to buy apple products. Aside from web developers and designers, not much people crave for apple. It is niche product. And huge price is not likely to change that. Especially because you get better products for less.

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Same can be said for iOS app development.

I actually done the calculation somewhere around here (you'll have to search for it, can't recall the thread) and most of the price difference is VAT. if you remove that, the difference is not very high at all and mostly to protect Apple against variation in currency for the release year.

For example, right now, with the Canadian dollar going down, we are actually priced slightly lower than the US price (in US currency)! With the Euro going down, several Apple products are at the same level as in the US. Also, you actually have to look at local prices to see if things are too expensive. People in the UK spend their money in the UK, not the US.

 

[Boris-VTR]

I actually done the calculation somewhere around here (you'll have to search for it, can't recall the thread) and most of the price difference is VAT. if you remove that, the difference is not very high at all and mostly to protect Apple against variation in currency for the release year.

For example, right now, with the Canadian dollar going down, we are actually priced slightly lower than the US price (in US currency)! With the Euro going down, several Apple products are at the same level as in the US. Also, you actually have to look at local prices to see if things are too expensive. People in the UK spend their money in the UK, not the US.

You are right. I am not from US, so i have no clue how VAT is calculated in price. In my country, all prices are with tax, so that is our final price. So I am not sure if americans pay 99 for 1yr membership or is it 99$ + tax. When i payed mine in october, it was 75 EURO (which was about 99$).

Like you said, there is good possibility that i did not calculate VAT in US listed prices, and therefore, price difference is not that much. I have no problem admitting that i was wrong

 

[lacek]

Its stupid to charge people to make apps for your platform let alone raise prices for making apps for your platform.

Actually I thinl the exact opposite is true. iOS apps have on average much higher level of sophistication. It is due to the fact that people not willing to invest a single dollar for development are barred from app store. Also apps written by authors that are not able to earn enough $ are most likely not present on App Store. You have to author at least a single app that earns you money to be able to sent apps to App Store (or you have to give $100 to Apple for free). This somehow increases the likelyhood that the Apps on App Store are worth Apple's time to review them and clients' time to download them.

 

[gnasher729]

I actually done the calculation somewhere around here (you'll have to search for it, can't recall the thread) and most of the price difference is VAT. if you remove that, the difference is not very high at all and mostly to protect Apple against variation in currency for the release year.

There's also the cost of consumer protection laws in the EU, where the shop selling you a Mac may have to fix the Mac for much longer time than the 1 year warranty. Someone has to pay for that.

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You are right. I am not from US, so i have no clue how VAT is calculated in price. In my country, all prices are with tax, so that is our final price. So I am not sure if americans pay 99 for 1yr membership or is it 99$ + tax. When i payed mine in october, it was 75 EURO (which was about 99$).

Like you said, there is good possibility that i did not calculate VAT in US listed prices, and therefore, price difference is not that much. I have no problem admitting that i was wrong

US prices are always without tax. In the EU, prices that are shown to consumers must be including tax.

 

[markcres]

If Apple was a guy, he would be a greedy obnoxious *******!

 

[firewood]

$99 is a lot less than the unsubsidized (true) cost of an iPhone plus a Mac. Consider it a small part of the real cost for any programmer. It also helps keep an even larger number of junky apps from filling the App Store, or otherwise circulating as Ad Hoc "test" cruft. Many developers even want the annual fee to be raised so Apple can hire more app reviewers and tool support engineers. So there!

 

[MH01]

Come on, young genius can't spare $100 dollars? How much did his computer cost... Was it donated? Does he devellop only for the Ipod because he can't afford to test on an Iphone? Did he learn coding from watching Scorpion... and dictate his code to someone else... (because you know, computers are so darn expensive and can't own one... ).

$100 is nothing at all. BTW, I come from a lower middle class family and bought my own computer ($6000 in today's money) in 1985 (at 18) with the money I took in from working during the summer and week (instead of buying a car...).

Everything computer related is so much cheaper these days it isn't even funny. If that kid can't spare $100, it is probably because he/she chose not too, not because it is expensive. A meal at McD costs $10 (if you don't go for the dollar meals) and I'm pretty that mythic guy can spare 10 a year to join the program.

----------



Goes up for a few reasons:
- US economy is the only western country with decent growth for the last 4 years
- Euro zone is stagnant
- In uncertain time people buy US dollars (or US assets, which needs US dollars to be bought)
- Resources are tanking and all countries that sell a lot of them have weakening currencies (their economies are under stress).

Well it seems it's a big enough deal for the worlds biggest company to adjust its prices using your logic , this price hike is absolutely nothing for Apple, seems they disagree and want that little extra cash!

It's not nothing, and not everyone has spare cash cause to be honest I don't know any 18 year old who can save $6000 after tax over summer ??? Not legally and not in normal part time work, given the minimum wage these days.

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Actually I thinl the exact opposite is true. iOS apps have on average much higher level of sophistication. It is due to the fact that people not willing to invest a single dollar for development are barred from app store. Also apps written by authors that are not able to earn enough $ are most likely not present on App Store. You have to author at least a single app that earns you money to be able to sent apps to App Store (or you have to give $100 to Apple for free). This somehow increases the likelyhood that the Apps on App Store are worth Apple's time to review them and clients' time to download them.

Browsing the apps available on the apps store, what is this higher level of sophistication you talk about? There is a lot of crap out there, people are drawn to iOS cause they believe they have a better chance to make money, being the biggest store , it's greed. You do realise, not all apps are crested to earn $$$$?

 

[Keirasplace]

Well it seems it's a big enough deal for the worlds biggest company to adjust its prices using your logic , this price hike is absolutely nothing for Apple, seems they disagree and want that little extra cash!

It's not nothing, and not everyone has spare cash cause to be honest I don't know any 18 year old who can save $6000 after tax over summer ??? Not legally and not in normal part time work, given the minimum wage these days.

----------



Browsing the apps available on the apps store, what is this higher level of sophistication you talk about? There is a lot of crap out there, people are drawn to iOS cause they believe they have a better chance to make money, being the biggest store , it's greed. You do realise, not all apps are crested to earn $$$$?

Well, then you're a slacker... ;-). I didn"t say one summer, or just the summer BTW.

But, you CAN do that much money and not be taxed at all (or get it back) if you don't work the rest of the year. But, I did work the rest...

At 18 worked in a Can making factory (hot and heavy work) at $12 a hour (in 1985, that's a lot of money) and made $480 * 10 = $4800 (ajusted for inflation, about $9600). I also worked at $7/h for 15h a week = $115 * 35 = $4025 (About $8100 nowadays). Continued working all through my engineering degree at various jobs.

Once the taxes were taken out I still got about $14500 (in todays money) to play with... So, how would I not be able to pay $6000 for a computer?

Considering computers nowadays cost $500 (for $6000 buck you'd have the space shuttle of computers ;-) .... You can see how much I think $100 is nothing at all.

Obviously, I lived rent free at my parents then.

 

[goobot]

In what world is $100 'rather steep'?

$100 is EXTREMELY cheap. What, are you planning on only making $20 on your apps, that $100 is expensive?

PS4 development program cost: $2500
Xbox One development program cost: $500

It's just that Android came along for free, and now everyone expects EVERYTHING to be free.

Terrible comparison, anyone devloping for the Xbox or PS is a company, as for a mobile phone 12 years olds do it.

 

[Ritmo]

It amazes me how much people are defending Apple on this case without even considering few facts.

1. Apple has ridiculous amount of money in the bank.
2. Big chunk of that money was made with 30% cut from the apps and from the hardware sales.
3. Yes 100$ or 100€ is not that much = it´s not that much for Apple either.
4. That money is certainly not going towards the better quality of ios sdk´s or xcode. In fact every release seems to break things that used to work before. With the introduction of Swift, I expect this to be huge problem for few years to come.
5. Yes there are developer tools and programs that are extremely highly priced, but it doesn´t mean they are same or targeting similar developers. You should be comparing those that are similar (Android, Windows phone, etc.), which are cheap and will probably be getting cheaper if not free.

Apple will be always be Apple but people shouldn´t be defending their every move just because it´s Apple.