Apple to hike app store prices

Tech giant to lift app prices in Australia by 15 per cent, blaming foreign exchange rates.

Australian Apple users are set to pay more for their apps, with the tech giant set to raise prices by 15 per cent.

The changes, first reported by Mac news source 9 to 5 Mac, mean an app costing $1.29 would rise in price to $1.49.

Apple has blamed foreign exchange rates for the change. It says it will not intterupt subscriptions but it will let customers know of the changes.

“Although we’re changing the prices for auto-renewable In-App Purchase subscriptions, we won’t interrupt them,” the company said in a statement to developers.

“We’ll send an email to your subscribers in Australia, Indonesia, and Sweden shortly before their existing subscription renews to let them know of the price increase. The email also includes a link to allow customers to turn their subscription off.”

Prices are also changing in the Indonesian and Swedish markets.

The changes are expected to take place “within the next 36 hours.”

Apple is also adding new low-price tiers, enabling app developers to charge 99 cents for apps.

Those low-price tiers were previously only available for emerging markets.