Brexit fallout means iOS customers in U.K. will have to pay more for apps

By Kyle Wiggers Published January 17, 2017

Due to currency fluctuations resulting from the U.K.’s decision to exit the European Union, iOS and Mac customers in the country will pay higher prices for digital goods on Apple’s apps marketplace. That’s according to a report in 9to5Mac, which obtained a letter addressed to developers earlier this week.

Specifically, customers will see the lowest App Store tier, 79p, raised to 99p, and the second-highest tier, 1.50 euros, increased to 2 euros — a 25-percent hike across the board. Higher prices will increase accordingly — Nintendo’s 8 euro Super Mario Run, for instance, will start at 10 euros.

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The new prices will roll out over the next seven days, or around the same time that customers in India (thanks to changes in service taxes) and Turkey (attributed to the depreciation of the Turkish lira) will see similar price hikes.

“Price tiers on the App Store are set internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business,” an Apple spokesperson told Engadget. “These factors vary from region to region and over time.”

News of the App Store price hike comes ahead of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s announcement that Britain will leave the European single market, the internal market that seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people within the European Union. The news is expected to have an impact on the British pound, which dropped to a 31-year low against the dollar last week, and today dropped below the euro.

Since the vote to leave the European Union, the value of the pound has fallen by 18.5 percent against the U.S. dollar.

Apps aren’t the only goods that have been affected by the pound’s falling value. Last year in October, Apple launched its refreshed line of Macs in the U.K. with a 20-percent price rise across the lineup (one model, the Mac Pro, saw a 500-euro increase overnight). This followed on the heels of increasing prices for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro (550 euros from 500 euros), the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (729 from 679), and the iPhone 7.

And Apple isn’t the only firm that has hiked prices in response to the Brexit. OnePlus and HTC recently increased the prices of the OnePlus 3 and HTC Vive headset, respectively. In December, car maker Tesla hiked prices of its electric vehicles 5 percent following a 3-percent bump in October.

Pricier apps and products likely won’t be the last of Brexit woes. In June, a report in the Financial Times predicted higher costs for mobile phone users making calls on the continent thanks to the establishment of mobile roaming agreements. U.K. motorists could pay higher prices at the pump. And retailers that import goods from abroad will likely pass on higher prices to consumers.

Former Staff Writer

Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…

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