Australian iPhone users angry over Apple charging more for online apps

APPLE is charging up to a third more for online apps in Australia with users accusing tech giant of penalising users here.

iPhone

APPLE is charging up to a third more for online apps in Australia than in the US, despite a surging Aussie dollar.

An Apple pricing matrix list obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun shows apps that sell for US99c in the US sell for $1.19 in Australia, despite the downloaded product being exactly the same.

By the current exchange rate, the US price of the app equates to 94c.

Apps that cost $US5.99 in the US cost $8.99 here, when the exchange rate puts the American cost of the apps at $5.69.

Internet forums are awash with angry app users and developers wondering why app favourites such as Angry Birds were dearer for Australians.

Many are furious that new video-editing software Final Cut Pro X will be sold online by Apple in the US for the equivalent of $283.72, but the same product will be sold for download in Australia for $349.99.

One app maker told how they set the price of a new app at $US2.99 on the Appstore, only to find it was selling for $3.99 in Australia.

"I understand that the App store default currency is USD, but a 33 per cent mark-up by Apple is going to make a negative impact on Australian sales," they wrote.

"Why is Apple penalising the Australian market?"

An Apple spokeswoman said the exchange rate was not the only thing that influenced the price of apps in different countries.

"Other factors influencing pricing include ... local import laws, business practices, taxes and the cost of doing business," the spokeswoman said.

"These factors vary from region to region and over time, such that international prices are not always comparable to US suggested retail prices."

But Seamus Byrne, managing editor of tech website Gizmodo Australia, said the cost of doing business was not as great when dealing with digital products.

"These are bits flying over the internet," he said.

"In the context of digital media, the cost of doing business is more an excuse than an actual reason.

"It does start to look a bit ridiculous."

An Australian app developer said many Australians were creating US-based Apple accounts to dodge the Australian fees.

"Getting a US account or using a US credit card is becoming more common, because people don't like the extra cost," the developer said.

In March, Labor MP Ed Husic wrote to Apple to demand answers over software price increases, bringing the matter before Parliament.