Apple announces 'Contingent Pricing' for App Store subscriptions: a win-win for users and devs?

Today, Apple introduced a new feature for App Store subscriptions: contingent pricing. This feature allows developers to offer a discounted subscription price to users who are already actively subscribed to another service.

What’s Contingent Pricing?

Imagine you have a gym membership and a streaming service like Netflix. Normally, you’d pay full price for both. But with this new feature on the App Store, the gym could offer you a discount on their membership if you’re already paying for Netflix. That’s basically what contingent pricing is for subscriptions.

It’s like a special deal where one subscription unlocks discounts on others, making them more affordable and tempting. 

This could appeal to both developers and users. Developers may be able to attract and retain subscribers through discounted offerings, while users could benefit from lower subscription costs.

The feature is currently in a pilot phase, with limited availability to developers. Apple plans to onboard more developers in the coming months.

Developers interested in implementing contingent pricing can sign up for updates and notifications about broader availability in January 2024.

In other Apple news, Apple is facing a patent lawsuit, which has led to a halt in sales of the latest Apple watches.