TechPhonesiPhonesSpotify will finally allow you to subscribe through the iPhone appNew EU-mandated rules mean that Spotify will bring back in-app subscriptions to its iOS appWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechPhonesiPhonesSpotify will finally allow you to subscribe through the iPhone appNew EU-mandated rules mean that Spotify will bring back in-app subscriptions to its iOS appWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
New EU-mandated rules mean that Spotify will bring back in-app subscriptions to its iOS app
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: r.classen / Shutterstock.com)
(Image credit: r.classen / Shutterstock.com)
It’s been nearly eight years since Spotify removed the ability to subscribe from within itsiPhoneapp, but the feature is finally coming back. Once the new EU Digital Markets Act comes into force this March, Spotify says it’ll bring back the in-app subscription option for EU residents. It’s unclear whether it will also bring the feature back to users in other territories.
The change means that once the app is updated you’ll be able to sign up for a Premium subscription or upgrade an existing subscription to a Duo or Family subscription from inside theiOSapp.
That’s not the only change Spotify is making. The streamer is also introducing in-app payments that you’ll be able to use to buy things such as audiobooks without paying anAppletax.
Why is Spotify bringing back in-app purchases?
For many years now Spotify has been a vocal critic of Apple’s app tax, which takes 30% of any payments made from iOS apps – so a £10 subscription means £3 to Apple. The new Digital Markets Act means Apple can’t do that any more, at least for EU customers.
For Spotify, the DMA is something it wants to see other countries copy. In a statement, the firm said that “It should be this easy for every single Spotify customer everywhere. But if you live outside certain markets, you will continue to encounter frustrating roadblocks because of Apple’s ridiculous rules. That’s why developers everywhere are continuing to ask other governments to pass their own laws like the DMA.”
The DMA also means that in Europe, Apple will need to allow its customers to install apps from places other than Apple’s own App Store. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple still wants a cut: this week the newspaperreportedthat Apple still intends to screen apps even if they don’t come from its own storefront, and it also plans “to collect fees from developers that offer downloads outside of the App Store.” Whether that’s following the letter of the law is unclear, but it’s pretty obvious that it goes against the law’s spirit.
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